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THE   UNIVERSITY 


OF  ILLINOIS 


LIBRARY 


uu 

;  IM  »•• 


UHOiS 
SURVEY 


A  CHAPTER 


OF  THE 


HISTORY  OF  THE  WAR  OF  1812 


IN  THE  ISTOHTHWEST. 


EMBRACING 


of  tie  Mtetera  Amy  anil  Fort 


AT  DETROIT,  AUGUST  16,  1812; 

a  ^Description  ana  Biographical  Skctcl) 

OP  THE 

jjndmn  (jshiej  ^ccumstii. 

* 

BY  COLONEL  WILLIAM  STANLEY  HATCH, 

Volunteer  in  the  Cincinnati  Z,iffht  Infantry,  and 
from  the  invasion  of  Canada,  to  the  surrender 
of  the  A.rmy,  JLctinff  jLssistant  Quarter- 
master General  of  that 


-oOo- 


CINCINNATI 

MIAMI    PRINTING    AND    PUBLISHING    COMPANY. 

1872 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872, 

BY  WILLIAM  STANLEY  HATCH, 
In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


HISTORICAL  INCIDENTS. 


The  aggressive  acts  of  the  British  Gov- 
ernment upon  the  ocean,  especially  in  the 
boarding  our  merchant  vessels,  and  forcibly 
taking  therefrom  any  sailor  that  the  board- 
ing officer  thought  proper  to  consider  as 
having  been  born  in  England,  and  forcing 
such  of  our  citizens  so  taken  into  actual  ser- 
vice on  board  their  fleet,  until  the  numbers 
taken  reached  nearly  seven  thousand,  and 
this  most  insulting  and  hostile  course  having 
been  continued  for  many  years,  notwith- 


8  A    CHAPTER    OF   THE 

standing  the  continued  and  earnest  remon- 
strance of  our  Government,  together  with 
the  instigation  of  the  savage  tribes  of  the 
west  and  north-west  by  English  traders  and 
the  official  agents  of  that  Government  to 
commit  acts  of  hostility  against  our  western 
settlements,  had  at  length  produced  in  the 
mind  of  almost  every  man  west  of  the 
Alleghanies  a  feeling  of  hostility  towards 
that  Government,  but  by  no  means  against 
the  English  people  as  individuals,  as  there 
were  none  of  our  citizens  more  respected  or 
beloved,  nor  were  there  any-  more  patriotic 
in  volunteering  in  the  war  that  ensued, 
than  our  fellow-citizens  of  English  birth. 
At  the  close  of  the  Anglo-Indian  war  of 
1791,  the  British  Government  still  held,  in 
contravention  of  the  treaty  of  1783,  a 
strongly  built  fortress,  near  the  foot  of  the 
Rapids  of  the  Maumee,  and  which  was  per- 
sistently held  by  that  Government  tor  a 
length  of  time,  and  only  vacated  by  British 
troops  after  many  complaints  and  many  re- 


HISTOEY   OF  THE   WAR   OF   1812.  9 

monstrances  on  the  part  of  our  Government. 
It  was  finally,  after  the  close  of  this  war 
by  Wayne's  treaty  at  Greenville  of  the 
third  of  August,  1795,  evacuated,  and  our 
territory  at  that  point  was  relieved  of  the 
presence  of  a  hostile  flag,  and  the  forces  of 
a  foreign  power,  for  so  long  a  time  tres- 
passing upon  our  territory  and  instigating 
and  assisting  the  savage  tribes  to  continued 
hostility  against  our  earliest  settlers,  in 
what  was  at  that  time  a  vast  wilderness. 

They  however  but  crossed  the  head  of  the 
Lake  to  their  previously  established  post  of 
Maiden,  just  at  the  entrance  of  the  Detroit 
River  into  the  Lake;  and  from  this  point 
they  sought  to  keep  a  strong  hold  upon  the 
Indian  tribes  of  the  old  north-western 
territory  as  well  as  all  others  that  they 
could  reach  or  control.  In  carrying  this 
policy  into  effect  they  made  Maiden  their 
great  trading  post,  and  from  it  made  to  the 
Indians  annually  presents  of  arms  and 
ammunition  as  well  as  medals,  trinkets  and 


10  A   CHAPTER   OF  THE 

showy  articles  of  merchandise,  and  for  the 
use  and  accommodation  of  this  annual  as- 
sembling of  the  Indian  tribes,  erected  a 
large  Council  House,  and  established  their 
great  council  ground  at  Brownstown,  near 
to  Lake  Erie,  and  within  our  territory  of 
Michigan.  Again  by  this  act  of  flagrant 
aggression  upon  our  territory,  continuing 
the  bitter  feeling  manifested  towards  us  on 
every  occasion. 

These  annual  convocations  of  all  the 
Indian  tribes  of  the  north-west  were  at- 
tended by  British  agents,  speaking  their 
language,  or  haranguing  them  through  their 
interpreters. 

It  was  here  that  Elliot  and  McKee, 
two  most  atrocious  renegades  from  the 
United  States,  whose  presence  at  St.  Glair's 
defeat  was  made  known  to  us  after  the 
treaty  of  Greenville  by  Indian  chiefs,  who 
asserted  that  they,  especially  the  latter, 
tomahawked  more  of  our  soldiers,  and  tore 
the  scalps  from  more  of  our  wounded  men 


HISTORY  OF  THE  WAR   OF    1812.  11 

than  any  Indian  actor  in  that  terrible  con- 
flict. It  was  here  that  these  men  with  bloody 
hands  and  scalps  of  American  citizens  or- 
namenting their  dress,  regularly  met  the 
Indians  in  council,  speaking  their  language, 
and  as  chief  agents  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment with  royal  commissions  as  British 
officers,  had  immense  influence  over  them. 

In  the  meantime  TECUMSEH  and  his 
brothers  had  grown  up  to  manhood,  and 
whilst  one  of  them  became  renowned 
throughout  all  the  north-west  and  south-west 
as  a  mighty  PROPHET  of  the  GREAT 
SPIRIT,  one  other  became  the  WARRIOR  and 
GREAT  ORATOR  of  his  tribe  and  race.  They 
unitedly  matured  their  great  plan  for  a 
general  confederation  of  all  the  Indian 
tribes  to  act  and  war  against  any  further 
approach  and  dominion  of  the  WHITE  RACE, 
and  if  possible  to  regain  their  old  territorial 
boundary  of  the  Ohio  River. 

Large  bodies  of  Indians  were  gathered  at 
different  points.  The  PROPHET  was  ever 


12  A   CHAPTER   OF  THE 

busy  teaching  them  and  promising  a  glori- 
ous future  when  they  should  have  "  driven 
the  white  race  'back  to  the  ocean  from 
ivhence  they  came" *  which  the  Great  Spirit 
had  said  to  him,  should  be  done  if  they 

*The  "PROPHET"  re-produced  these  great  words:  "drive 
the  white  race  back  to  the  ocean  from  whence  they  came,"  which 
had  been  the  rallying  cry  of  the  great  "  PONTIAC,"  a  half 
a  century  before.  This  he  did  as  giving  higher  promises  from 
the  favor  of  the  GREAT  SPIRIT  in  their  behalf  than  what 
TECUMSEH  or  the  chiefs  of  the  great  tribes  contended  for 
or  expected,  even  in  the  event  of  the  greatest  success. 

They  hoped  to  regain  their  old  boundary,  the  Ohio  River. 
In  this  they  were  consistent :  they  had  contended  for  it  in 
the  War  of  1791,  and  when  our  government  endeavored 
after  Harmar's  and  St.  Glair's  defeats,  and  before  Wayne's 
campaign,  to  make  peace  with  them,  they  unitedly  refused, 
except  upon  the  terms  of  this  boundary ;  and  our  Govern- 
ment during  its  negotiations  with  them  had  to  put  in  the 
plea,  that,  as  by  the  treaty  of  "FORT  HARMAR"  a  part  of 
the  territory  had  been  ceded  to  the  United  States,  and 
already  partially  occupied  in  good  faith,  the  old  limits  could 
not  be  agreed  too,  but  that  the  then  existing  limits  and 
boundaries  should  forever  be  held  sacred  and  inviolate. 
British  officers  and  agents  had  promised  them  in  1791,  if 
they  would  make  a  general  war  on  the  American  settlements 
already  established  in  the  north-western  territory,  that  all 
the  power  and  all  the  warriors  of  the  king  of  Great  Britain, 
their  great  father  beyond  the  rising  sun,  should  be  brought  to 
their  support,  and  would  certainly  secure  to  them  forever 
the  boundary  of  the  Ohio  Kiver. 


HISTORY  OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  13 

would  obey  his  word  and  unite  with  a  de- 
termined will  in  support  of  the  great  cause. 
At  the  same  time  TECUMSEH  was  actively 
engaged  in  visiting,  accompanied  by  a 
chosen  band  of  young  warriors,  every  Indian 
tribe  from  Lake  Superior  on  the  north,  to 
Florida  in  the  south,  and  holding  councils 
with  them,  and  urging  with  his  vehement 
oratory  that  general  combined  action  so 
necessary  to  ensure  the  success  of  their  great 
effort -in  a  universal  war 

The  summer  of  1811  arrived,  when  the 
government  deemed  it  necessary  to  bring  a 
large  force  into  the  field  to  meet  and  put 
down  this  dangerous  combination. 

The  old  4th  regiment  of  Infantry,  raised 
and  officered  mostly  in  New  Hampshire 
and  Massachusetts,  and  commanded  by 
Colonel  Boyd,  was  ordered  to  report  at  Vin- 
cennes,  to  General  William  Henry  Harrison, 
then  Governor  of  the  Indiana  Territory.  At 
the  same  time  several  regiments  of  volunteer 
mounted  Infantry  were  called  for  from  the 


14  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

State  of  Kentucky,  and  marched  in  tlio 
months  of  September  and  October  to  the 
same  post. 

These  forces  under  the  command  of 
Governor  Harrison,  advanced  up  the  line 
of  the  Wabash;  established  the  post  of 
Fort  Harrison  ;  moved  on,  and  on  the  sixth 
of  November,  in  the  afternoon,  encamped 
on  rising  ground  near  Tippecanoe  Creek, 
having  an  extensive  prairie  just  in  front, 
and  the  Indian  village  known  as  the 
PROPHET'S  TOWN,  being  the  main  point  for 
which  the  army  marched,  a  short  distance 
in  advance.  It  was  here  that  the  Indians 
had  been  assembled  for  several  months,  and 
were  then  known  to  be  in  large  force.  Yet 
Governor  Harrison  did  not  expect  that  they 
would  attack  him,  but  that  on  seeing  his 
large  and  well  appointed  army,  would  for 
the  time  at  least  pretend  a  disposition  for 
peace,  and  gradually  disperse  to  their 
villages  or  tribes.  In  this,  however,  he  was 
mistaken,  as  at  4  o'clock  the  next  morning 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  15 

I 

they  made  their  attack.  It  was  impetuous, 
and  in  great  force,  and  made  almost  simul- 
taneously on  both  flanks  and  the  rear  of  the 
camp,  first  breaking  through  the  pickets, 
with  silent  approach  creeping  upon  the 
earth  through  the  tall  grass,  slaying  nearly 
all.  They  then  rushed  with  great  fury 
through  and  over  the  main  guards,  and 
entered  the  camp  amidst  the  tents  of  our 
troops,  with  terrific  yells. 

It  required  all  the  coolness  and  bravery 
of  the  troops  to  repel  them,  which  they  did, 
so  soon  as  they  were  up  and  formed  in  line ; 
not,  however,  until  many  of  our  brave  and 
distinguished  officers  and  men  had  fallen. 
One  hundred  and  eighty-eight  men  and 
officers  killed  and  wounded,  was  the  result- 
ing loss  on  our  part;  and  about  an  equal 
number  of  Indians  killed,  and  probably  an 
equal  number  wounded,  was  the  amount  of 
the  Indian  loss,  in  what  was  in  fact  the 
first  battle  of  the  war,  publicly  declared  in 


16  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

« 

the  following   year,  and  known  in  history 
as  the  war  of  1812. 

The  "battle  of  Tippecanoe  ivas  fought. 

This  was  on  the  morning  of  the  seventh  of  November,  1811. 

The  Kentucky  Volunteers  returned  home. 
The  4th  U.  S.  regiment  was  stationed  at 
Fort  Harrison  and  Vincennes  until  the 
month  of  May,  1812,  when  it  marched  for 
Ohio,  and  joined  the  north-western  army, 
then  fully  organized,  and  having  moved 
forward  from  the  plains  of  Mad  River,  was 
encamped  at  Urbana,  Champaign  county, 
and  the  commanding  officer  was  holding  a 
council  with  the  chiefs  of  the  Wyandott, 
Otto  way,  Miami,  and  other  Indian  tribes 
living  within  the  boundaries  of  the  State  of 
Ohio,  for  a  peaceful  passage  of  the  army 
through  the  Indian  territory,  commencing  a 
few  miles  north  of  Urbana,  and  extending 
with  few  exceptions  to  Detroit 

The  imminence  of  war  with  Great  Britain 
had  become  so  great  that  in  the  winter  of 


HISTORY   OP   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  17 

1811  and  1812,  the  general  government 
deemed  it  necessary  that  a  body  of  volunteers 

should  be  called  for  from  the  State  of  Ohio, 
to  march  on  the  opening  of  the  season 
northward  to  Detroit,  in  order  that  this  then 
remote  frontier  post  should  in  all  events  be 
well  protected,  and  in  the  event  of  war  being 
declared,  be  in  readiness  to  move  promptly 
upon  upper  Canada. 

THREE  FULL  REGIMENTS  were  called  for, 
and  the  men  composing  this  force  PROMPTLY 
RESPONDED  to  the  call.  They  marched  in 
detachments  from  the  southern,  the  central, 
and  the  south-eastern  parts  of  the  State, 
under  the  direction  of  Governor  Meigs,  for 
the  plains  of  Mad  River,  three  miles  above 
Dayton,  there  to  choose  field  officers  and 
fully  organize. 

Brigadier-General  William  Hull,  then 
Governor  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan,  ar- 
rived from  Washington  City  with  his  aids- 
de-camp,  Captain  Hickman  and  Captain 


18  A   CHAPTER   OF   THE 

Abraham  F.  Hull  his  son,*  on  the  22nd 
of  April,  1812,  and  established  his  head- 
quarters at  the  COLUMBIAN  INN,  at  the 
south-west  corner  of  Main  and  Second 
streets,  Cincinnati,  then  the  principal  tavern 
in  the  town ;  and  during  the  last  of  April 
and  first  week  of  May,  made  his  arrange- 
ments for  the  necessary  supplies  and  trans- 
portation of  the  army.  He  then  proceeded 
on  to  Dayton,  and  superintended  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Ohio  volunteers ;  and  having 
completed  his  arrangements,  in  the  last  week 
of  May  commenced  his  line  of  march  for 
Detroit,  as  commander  in  chief  of  the 
north-western  army,  as  it  was  now  styled. 

*  Captain  Hull,  afterwards,  at  the  desperately  contested 
and  bloody  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane,  on  the  25th  day  of 
July,  1814,  gallantly  fell  at  the  head  of  his  command  in  the 
last  charge  of  the  enemy,  just  as  the  moon  was  setting  at  eleven 
o'clock  at  night;-  and  is  buried  where  he  fell,  in  the  little 
graveyard  on  the  crest  of  the  ridge,  then  occupied  with  a 
battery,  which  four  hours  previous  had  been  so  gallantly 
carried  by  Colonel  Miller  oi  our  old  4th,  then  of  the  21st 
regiment. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   WAR   OF    1812.  19 

He  had  become  old  and  quite  fat,  and  had 
evidently  lost  the  energy  as  well  as  the 
valor,  that  thirty-three  years  previous  had 
given  him  the  post  of  honor  with  ANTHONY 
WAYNE,  in  carrying  the  fortress  of  Stony 
Point. 

The  Cincinnati  Light  Infantry  with  which 
I  was  connected,  was  commanded  by 

Captain,  JOHN  F.  MANSFIELD,  a  gentle- 
man and  a  soldier 

Lieutenant,  STEPHEN  MCFARLAND,  a  good 
and  generous  hearted  man. 

Ensign,  THOMAS  HECKE WELDER,  a  mer- 
chant and  an  excellent  man. 

Orderly  Sergeant,  JAMES  CHAMBERS,  a 
well  known  and  esteemed  citizen. 

The  members  of  the  company  were  young 
men,  merchants,  artizans,  and  tradesmen, 
all  of  the  highest  respectability. 

This  company  was  at  the  organization  of 
the  army  attached  to  the  3d  regiment,  in- 
stead of  the  2nd,  which  was  composed  of 
volunteers  from  Hamilton,  Warren,  and 


20  A   CHAPTER   OF   THE 

other  conterminous  counties  in  the  south- 
western part  of  Ohio. 

It  marched  for  Dayton,  together  with 
several  companies  of  the  2nd  regiment,  on 
the  14th  of  May. 

As  before  stated,  the  army  halted  at 
Urbana,  and  the  commanding  general  held 
a'  council  with  the  Indians  through  whose 
territories  it  had  to  march  to  reach  Detroit. 
Their  assent  was  given  with  apparent  and 
averred  friendly  feelings ;  no  opposition 
was  encountered ;  the  weather  was  warm  and 
pleasant.  The  dense  forest  extending  with 
but  few  exceptions,  the  entire  distance, 
furnished  shade  in  day  time  and  shelter  at 
night. 

The  marches  were  easy,  as  a  wagon  trace 
had  to  be  opened,  and  block-houses  as 
posts  had  to  be  built  at  several  points.  The 
army  passed  through  the  wilds  of  Ohio, 
reaching  and  crossing  the  Maumee  River 
at  the  foot  of  the  rapids  in  fine  health,  on 


HISTORY   OF  THE   WAR   OF   1812.  21 

the  30th  of  June ;  and  on  the  3rd  day  of 
July  first  heard  of  the  DECLARATION  OF 
WAR,  which  had  been  made  on  the  18th  of 
June. 


DECLARATION  OF  WAR! 


THE  ARMY  REACHES  DETROIT. 


INVASION     OF     CANADA. 


JULY  3,  1812. — At  2  o'clock,  p.  M.,  whilst 
under  march,  near  the  River  Raisin,  we 
received  dispatches  from  Washington  City, 
announcing  the  DECLARATION  OF  WAR 
against  England.  The  late  Judge  Shaler, 
of  Pittsburgh,  then  a  young  man,  was  the 
bearer  of  the  dispatches. 

During  the  forenoon  of  Saturday,  the  4th 
of  July,  the  army  reached  the  River  Huron, 
after  passing  some  miles  through  a  heavily 
timbered  swamp.  The  river  where  struck 
was  deep,  with  the  water  near  the  surface 


24  A   CHA.PTEK   OP  THE 

of  the  ground ;  banks  perpendicular,  width 
perhaps  fifty  or  sixty  feet.  A  floating 
bridge,  made  of  the  timber  of  the  vicinity, 
and  transported  by  a  large  fatigue  force, 
was  constructed  in  a  short  time;  so  that 
the  entire  army,  with  all  the  baggage  and 
stores,  was  passed  over  the  river  before 
sunset.  We  bivouacked  in  the  prairie  in 
front;  the  grass  in  which  was  then  at  an 
average  height  of  about  three  feet. 

JULY  5th. — The  army  passed  the  Indian 
council  ground  at  Brownstown,  crossed  the 
River  Rouge*  advanced  and  encamped  at 
"  Spring  Wells"  estimated  at  that  time  to 
be  from  three  to  four  miles  from  the  Fort 
of  Detroit. 

JULY  6th. — Monday,  the  Fourth   Regi- 

*  This  river  was  then  called  the  Rouge  by  Americans, 
and  by  most  of  the  French ;  and  the  E>  course  by  other 
French  inhabitants,  from  the  fact  that  their  ancestors  had 
obtained,  from  along  its  banks,  the  bark  of  trees  in  large 
quantities,  for  the  covering  of  their  rude  dwellings  at  the 
period  of  their  earliest  settlement,  transporting  it  by  their 
bateaux  and  canoes  to  the  shore  of  Detroit.  (The  strait). 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  25 

ment  U.  S.  Infantry  marched  to  the  fort, 
and  occupied  it. 

JULY  7th. — The  volunteers  marched,  and 
took  position  near  the  fort  on  the  south,  west 

and  north.     Arrangements  were  now  made 
by  procuring   a  large   supply  of  bateaux 

to  move  on  Canada. 

JULY  8th. — Orders  were  issued  for  the 
army  to  be  in  readiness  to  march  and  cross 
the  river  at  2  o'clock  the  next  morning. 

JULY  9th. — This  morning  at  2  o'clock, 
A.  M.,  the  army  moved  up  the  bank  of  the 
river  in  the  following  order : 

1.  The  Fourth  U.  S.  Regiment,  Lieuten- 
ant Colonel  James  Miller. 

2.  The  First  Regiment  Ohio  Volunteers, 
Colonel  Duncan  McArthur. 

3.  The   Second   Regiment  Ohio  Volun- 
teers, Colonel  James  Findlay. 

4.  The  Third  Regiment  Ohio  Volunteers, 
Colonel  Lewis  Cass. 

The  advance  column  reached  a  point 
parallel  to  the  lower  end  of  the  island 


26  A    CHAPTER   OF   THE 

(then  called  Hog  Island  or  Isle  Descochon), 
the  columns  wheeled  by  the  right  into  line, 
by  which  movement  the  Third  Regiment 
volunteers  became  the  right  of  the  army. 

It  was  now  daylight  of  a  delightful 
bright  summer  morning.  The  whole  line 
entered  bateaux,  which  had  on  the  preced- 
ing evening  been  taken  from  opposite  the 
fort,  down  the  river,  to  a  point  opposite 
Sandwich,  in  order  to  mislead  the  enemy 
as  to  the  place  selected  for  our  advance, 
and  had  been  brought  back  to  this  point 
after  12  o'clock. 

The  Cincinnati  Light  Infantry  were  on 
the  extreme  right.  We,  together  with  Cap- 
tain Mansfield,-  Orderly  James  Chambers, 
the  late  Elias  Sayre,  John  Highway,  John 
Lawrence,  and  others  entered  the  bateaux 
furthest  down  the  river.  These  bateaux 
were  a  class  of  boats  used  by  the  Canadians 
in  their  voyages  on  the  lakes,  and  as  tra- 
ders carrying  their  stores.  They  had  no 
deck ;  were  merely  large  skiffs. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  27 

The  flotilla  proceeded  very  regularly  and 
handsomely  dressed  in  line>  the  right  a  lit- 
tle in  advance.  Standing  in  the  bow  with 
Captain  Mansfield,  in  looking  to  the  left, 
we  could  see  every  boat,  and  distinguish 
each  regiment.  On  passing  the  middle  of 
the  river,  our  wing  gradually  gained  fur- 
ther in  advance ;  and  as  our  Captain  was 
very  watchful  as  we  neared  the  shore,  lest 
some  on  our  left  should  push  ahead  out  of 
line,  in  order  to  gain  the  shore  before  us, 
he  gave  orders  in  an  undertone  to  the  oars- 
men to  give  headway.  The  result  was,  we 
struck  shore  more  than  a  rod  in  advance  of 
any  other  boat,  and  our  company  had 
landed  and  formed  in  column  as  the  head 
of  the  advance,  before  the  center  and  left 
had  reached  the  shore 

We  were  not  attacked  on  landing,  as  we 
had  expected.  Oblique  to  the  right,  and 
on  a  bluff  quite  near  to  where  we  landed, 
was  a  strongly  built  mill  (it  was  still  stand- 
ing in  1856  the  last  time  I  was  in  Detroit), 


28  A   CHAPTER   OF   THE 

and  we  thought  it  more  than  probable  that 
our  enemy,  who  is  ever  ready  for  a  fight  in 
time  of  war,  had  placed  and  masked  a  light 
battery  within  it,  which,  with  their  sharp- 
shooters, might  annoy  us  considerably  be- 
fore our  advance  in  force  would  have 
caused  their  precipitate  retreat.  But  we 
met  with  no  resistance. 

We  marched  down  the  road  along  the 
bank  of  the  river,  to  a  point  opposite  the 
town,  presenting  a  fine  appearance  from  the 
opposite  shore,  according  to  the  description 
of  those  who  witnessed  it.  The  inhabi- 
tants (nearly  all  Canadian  French)  wel- 
comed us  as  friends.  White  handkerchiefs 
and  flags  waved  from,  every  house,  and  the 
expression,  "We  like  the  Americans,'3 
came  forth  from  every  dwelling. 

A  vacant,  unfinished  two  story  brick 
house,  still  standing  in  1856,  belonging,  it 
was  said,  to  a  Colonel  Babie,  with  extensive 
grounds,  became  the  head  quarters  and 
entrenched  camp  of  the  north-western 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAK  OF   1812.  29 

army  in  Canada.  The  roof  of  the  house 
was  shingled,  the  floors  laid,  and  the  win- 
dows in;  otherwise  it  was  entirely  unfin- 
ished. A  partition  of  rough  boards  was 
put  up  on  each  side  of  the  hall,  which  ran 
entirely  through  the  house.  General  Hull, 
with  his  aids,  occupied  the  north  half  of 
the  house.  General  James  Taylor,  late  of 
Newport,  Kentucky,  Quarter  Master  Gen- 
eral of  the  army,  with  his  two  assistants, 
occupied  the  south  side.  The  entrance  to 
the  hall  and  its  use  was  common  to  both. 
The  councils  of  war  were  held  in  the  second 
story,  over  the  room  occupied  by  the  com- 
manding General,  access  to  which  was  had 
by  a  rough  stairway.  A  free  and  unre- 
stricted, confidential  intercourse  existed. 
Everything  was  known  to  us.  Each  day's 
events  and  incidents  were  freely  communi- 
cated. General  Hull  and  his  son,  Captain 
Hull,  lodged  most  of  the  time  at  head 
quarters.  General  Taylor,  being  unwell, 
lodged  in  Detroit.  Major  Taylor  Berry, 


30  A   CHAPTER   OF  THE 

Assistant  Quarter  Master  General,  and  my- 
self, attended  to  the  duties  of  our  office 
every  day,  and  lodged  in  it  every  night, 
except  a  few  nights  when  I  was  out  on 
reconnoisances  with  the  troops. 

I  state  these  facts  with  more  particular- 
ity, in  order  to  show  that  my  official  posi- 
tion of  acting  Assistant  Quarter  Master 
General  of  the  army,  and  my  unrestricted 
personal  intercourse  with  the  officers  at 
head-quarters,  gave  me  all  the  facilities 
which  could  be  desired  for  obtaining  cor- 
rect information  on  every  point.  And  I 
may  further  state  that  in  accepting  the  ap- 
pointment, I  reserved  the  right  to  join  my 
company  whenever  ordered  on  duty  beyond 
the  camp,  in  which  a  reconnoisance  of  the 

V 

enemy's  position  or  an  advance  upon  his 
lines,  might  lead  to  a  conflict  with  him  or 
his  allies,  the  Indians. 

Here  the  army  lay  for  four  weeks,  during 
which  time  a  detachment  under  the  com- 
mand of  Colonel  McArthur  marched  up 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF   1812.  31 

the  River  Thames,  and  returned  with  large 
supplies  of  flour,  wheat,  beef  cattle,  and 
between  eight  hundred  and  a  thousand 
sheep.  The  latter  were  all  sent  over  the 
river,  and  ranged  at  large  on  the  extensive 

common  back  of  the  Fort,  and  there  re- 

• 

mained  until  after  the  surrender  of  the 
army,  when  I  saw  the  Indians  busy  killing 
them,  and  appropriating  the  fine  mutton  they 
afforded  to  their  use. 

A  reconnoisance  in  force  under  the  com- 
mand of  Colonels  McArthur  and  Cass, 
marched  to  the  vicinity  of  Maiden,  carrying 
the  enemy's  battery  posted  at  the  bridge 
over  the  Canard  River,  14  miles  from  our 
camp,  and  4  miles  above  Maiden.  Another 
reconnoisance  by  the  Light  Infantry  and  a 
small  detachment  of  the  4th  U.  S.  regiment 
commanded  by  Captain  Snelling,  was  made 
about  the  20th  of  July,  by  which  it  was  as- 
certained that  the  enemy  had  withdrawn 
his  out  post  at  the  "  Canard"  bridge,  and 
had  stationed  the  Queen  Charlotte  off  and 


32  A    CHAPTER   OF   THE 

near  the  mouth  of  the  Canard  River,  in 
position  of  observation. 

Another  movement  was  then  planned  by 
the  same  officers  and  others,  to  construct 
some  floating  batteries,  place  a  24  pound 
gun  upon  each,  and  with  the  addition  of  a 

* 

few  gunners  and  sailors,  then  in  Detroit,  to 
descend  along  the  shore  of  the  river  on  the 
first  dark  night,  and  board  the  Queen 
Charlotte,  and  from  her  deck  call  on  the 
commanding  general  to  march  the  army 
and  enter  Maiden.  This  project  was  not 
sanctioned  at  head-quarters,  and  all  that 
could  be  obtained  was  permission  to  make  a 
further  reconnoisance,  and  ascertain  the  pre- 
cise position  of  this  vessel.  In  making  this 
reconnoisance  it  was  intended  if  possible  to 
carry  her  by  boarding ;  but  the  attempt, 
for  the  want  of  the  batteries  arid  sailors, 
did  not  succeed,  particularly  as  the  night 
brightened  after  12  o'clock,  so  as  to  discover 
us  to  the  enemy  too  soon.  At  this  time  the 
enemy  had  posted  a  small  Indian  force  on 


HISTORY   OF  THE   WAR  OF    1812.  33 

the  line  of  our  communication  with  the 
State  of  Ohio,  and  had  captured  the  bearer 
of  despatches  from  head-quarters  as  well  as 
private  correspondence,  which  of  course  were 
taken  to  Maiden.  General  Hull  therefore 
ordered  Major  Vanhorne,  of  the  2nd  regi- 
ment volunteers,  with  two  companies  of 
Infantry,  a  part  of  a  company  of  volunteer 
cavalry,  together  with  a  part  of  a  company 
ol  rifles,  to  escort  the  mail  and  despatches, 
as  well  as  a  few  gentlemen  belonging  to  the 
commissary  department  returning  to  Ohio. 
He  proceeded  down  the  same  road  the 
army  had  marched  up  on  its  approach  to 
Detroit,  and  on  reaching  a  point  nearly 
opposite  Maiden,  about  the  centre  of  Gros 
Isle,  well  selected  for  the  purpose  by  the 
Indians,  was  attacked,  and  after  the  loss  of 
some  brave  men  and  officers,  compelled  to 
make  a  precipitate  retreat  back  to  the  Fort. 
This  little  discomfiture,  together  with  the 
reception  at  head-quarters  of  information 
that  Fort  Mackinac  had  been  captured  by 


34  A  CHAPTER  OF  THE 

the  enemy,  appeared  to  have  alarmed  the 
commanding  general,  and  to  have  divested 
him  of  all  self  possession  or  control  over  his 
fears. 

From  the  20th  July,  the  army  was  in 
daily  expectation  of  orders  to  march  on 
Maiden.  The  enemy's  weakness  was  well 
known. 

As  General  Hull,  in  his  endeavors  to  ex- 
tenuate the  act  of  his  surrender,  alleges, 
among  other  causes,  the  want  of  subsis- 
tence for  his  army,  I  will  here  state  that 
on  a  morning  early  in  August,  whilst  in 
conversation  with  one  of  his  Aids,  at  the 
front  door  of  head-quarters,  a  respectable 
looking  man  was  passed  in  through  the 
guard,  approached,  and  said  he  wished  to  see 
General  Hull.  The  Aid  informed  the  Gen- 

• 

eral,  who  walked  to  the  door,  when  the  per- 
son, after  salutation,  said,  "  General,  as 
your  chief  commissary  is  absent,  I  have 
taken  the  liberty  of  calling  and  saying  that 
I  have  one  hundred  head  of  cattle,  which 


HISTORY  OF  THE  WAR  OF   1812.  35 

I  can  deliver  in  a  day  or  two."  General 
Hull  replied,  "I  do  not  want  them;  I 
have  plenty ;"  turned  and  walked  into  his 
quarters. 

On  the  evening  of  the  7th  August,  it  was 
reported  in  camp  that  the  army  would 
march  on  MALDEN  during  the  night  and 
early  in  the  morning.  At  11  o'clock  tents 
were  struck  and  loaded,  and  the  wagon 
train  was  moving;  but  instead  of  moving 
down  the  road,  in  the  direction  of  Maiden, 
was  driven  to  the  landing,  and  taken  by 
ferry  boats  across  the  river,  and  stationed 
on  the  common,  north  of  the  fort. 

Orders  were  issued  during  the  niglit  to 
break  up  camp,  and  recross  the  river  to 
Detroit  I 

The  most  profound  astonishment  and 
indignation,  at  what  was  felt  as  a  disgrace, 
pervaded  the  army. 

The  opinion  universally  prevailed,  and 
was  openly  expressed  by  officers  and  men, 
that  the  Commanding  General  had  com- 


36  A   CHAPTER   OF   THE 

• 

mitted  an  unpardonable  and  fatal  error  in 
not  having  marched  the  army  upon  Maiden, 
to  which  he  was  repeatedly  and  earnestly 
urged,  to  my  personal  knowledge,  when 
the  extreme  weakness  of  the  enemy  was 
well  ascertained  by  our  reconnoisances  and 
secret  service,  fully  confirmed  by  deserters 
coming  into  head-quarters  every  morning. 
His  force  having  been  reduced  by  de- 
sertion from  six  hundred  and  sixty  Cana- 
dian militia  to  one  hundred  and  sixty; 
from  one  hundred  Indians  under  Tecumseh 

to  sixty,  and  having  but  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  regulars  ;  it  was  also  known  that 
the  British  officers  had  already  sent  their- 
most  valuable  effects  on  board  their  vessels 
in  the  port,  preparatory  to  a  precipitate 
evacuation  of  the  post.  Yet  no  one,  except 
those  near  the  Commanding  General,  had 
the  most  distant  idea  that  he  had  thought 
of  giving  up  the  post  of  Detroit,  or  surren- 
dering the  army;  a  post  which  could  not 
have  been  taken  by  any  force  the  enemy 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  37 

could  have  brought  against  it ;  and  an  army 
with  an  abundance  of  subsistence;  at  this 
time,  according  to  the  official  report  of  the 
Brigade  Major,  acting  as  Adjutant  General 
of  the  army,  numbering  2,300  effective 
men,  well  supplied  with  artillery,  indepen- 
dent of  the  guns  of  the  fort  and  advanced 
batteries. 

On  the  9th  of  August,  a  strong  detach- 
ment was  marched  down  the  road,  with  or- 
ders to  attack  the  enemy  who  had  crossed 
from  Maiden  in  force,  and  taken  up  a  posi- 
tion nearly  opposite  the  center  of  Gros  Isle, 
cutting  our  communication  with  Ohio.  The 
detachment  reached  them  at  3  o'clock, 
p.  M.;  immediately  charged  upon  their  lines, 
and  drove  them  three  miles  to  their  boats, 
when,  as  it  had  become  dark  and  raining, 
the  most  of  them  escaped  to  Maiden. 

In  this  action  the  numbers  on  each  side 
were  about  equal.  The  British  brought 
into  the  field  a  large  part  of  their  regulars, 
together  with  all  the  Indian  force,  the 


38  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

whole  under  the  command  of  Major  Muir. 
Our  attack  upon  their  position,  which  was 
strengthened  by  temporary  breast  works, 
formed  of  logs  and  fallen  trees,  was  dashing 
and  entirely  successful. 

The  communication  with  Ohio  was  opened, 
and  the  enemy  defeated.  The  next  day 
the  detachment,  after  sending  forward  the 
mails  and  dispatches,  returned  to  the  fort. 
Our  loss  was  rather  larger  than  that  of  the 
enemy  (sixty-eight  men),  as  the  Indians 
had  the  first  fire  from  behind  their  logs  and 
trees ;  they  were  prevented,  however,  by  our 
charge  and  pursuit,  from  having  another. 
This  action  was  known  in  the  army  as  the 
battle  of  Magauga,  about  fourteen  miles 
below  Detroit ;  it  was  afterward  known  as 
the  battle  of  Brownstown. 

We  here  met  a  very  great  increase  of 
Indian  force  which  had  recently  joined  the 
standard  of  Tecumseh,  who,  as  we  ascer- 
tained, a  few  days  afterward,  had,  on  the 
receipt  of  intelligence  of  the  fall  of  Macki- 


HISTORY   OF   THE  WAR  OF    1812.  39 

nac,  dispatched  his  runners  to  all  his 
associate  tribes  to  assemble  at  Maiden  im- 
mediately; that  the  fort  at  Mackinac  had 
been  taken  by  the  British  forces  ;  that  the 
American  army  had  shown,  by  not  march- 
ing on  Maiden,  and  by  the  easy  discomfi- 
ture of  several  detachments,  that  they 
would  not  fight;  that  the  braves  should 
come  forward  with  all  speed,  so  as  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  capture  of  the  army,  and 
share  in  the  plunder,  which  would  be  great. 
His  appeal  was  promptly  responded  to.  So 
that  instead  of  but  sixty  men  under  his 
command,  as  so  lately  had  been  the  case, 
he  now  had  nearly  six  hundred ;  and  by  the 
16th  seven  hundred  warriors  had  joined 
him,  who,  as  a  body,  were  probably  never 
equalled;  certainly  never  excelled  in  the 
annals  of  Indian  warfare.  They  were  no- 
ble specimens  of  their  race. 

A  suspicion  strongly  grounded  and  deeply 
felt  on  the  part  of  the  most  active  and  in- 
telligent of  the  volunteers,  had  now  risen 


40  A   CHAPTER   OF   THE 

to  such  a  point,  that  there  was  no  longer 
any  confidence  reposed  in  the  valor  or 
patriotism  of  the  Commanding  General. 
A  consultation  was  held,  and  it  was  de- 
cided to  get  up  a  Round  Robin,  as  it  was 
called,  addressed  to  the  three  Colonels  of 
the  Ohio  Volunteers,  requesting  the  arrest  or 
displacement  of  the  General,  and  devolving 
the  command  on  the  eldest  of  the  Colonels, 
McArthur.  This  was  on  the  12th  of  Au- 
gust. 

On  the  following  day  it  was  reported  that 
an  armistice,  or  at  least  a  temporary  cessa- 
tion of  hostilities,  had  been  agreed  upon  by 
the  British  authorities,  and  our  armies  on 
the  Niagara  and  northern  frontier,  and 
that  Major  General  Brock,  Governor  of 
Upper  Canada,  an  officer  of  high  reputation, 
had  arrived  at  Maiden  to  conduct  their 
operations  in  this  quarter. 

The  suspicion  and  distrust  of  the  army 
was  increased  by  General  Hull's  peremp- 
tory refusal  to  allow  that  distinguished 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF   1812.  41 

officer,  Captain,  afterwards  Colonel  Snelling, 
(after  earnest  and  repeated  solicitation)  to 
cross  the  river  in  the  night,  to  carry  and 
destroy  an  unfinished  battery,  which  was 
being  constructed  from  the  cellar  of  a  house 
on  the  opposite  bank,  and  close  to  it,  under 
the  direction  of  Captain  Dixon  of  the  royal 
artillery.*  This  was  the  only  battery  of 
any  consequence  established  by  the  enemy, 
and  the  only  one  that  injured  us.  It  opened 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  15th,  and  continued 
its  cannonade  during  the  morning  of  the 
16th,  when  one  of  its  balls  struck  and  in- 

*  Captain  Dixon  was  afterwards  taken  prisoner  at  the 
attack  of  Fort  Stevenson ;  lie  narrowly  escaped  death  at  the 
time,  and  only  escaped,  as  he  informed  me,  by  being  in  the 
act  of  leaping  the  ditch  at  the  moment  of  the  deadly  dis- 
charge of  the  cannon  from  the  little  block-house  bastion,  at 
the  south-west  angle  of  the  Fort,  the  balls  and  grape 
passing  under  his  feet,  and  killing  every  man  who  had 
entered  the  ditch  in  making  the  assault.  This  discharge  of  a 
single  cannon,  (and  they  had  but  one,)  directed  for  the 
moment  by  the  gallant  Croghan  in  person,  literally  filling 
the  ditch  with  the  slain,  with  the  simultaneous  fall  of 
Colonel  Short  their  commander,  repulsed  the  enemy. 


42  A   CHAPTER   OF  THE 

stantly  killed  Lieutenant  Hanks,  who  had 
been  in  command  at  Mackinac,  was  then  a 
prisoner  of  war  on  parole,  the  vessel  in 
which  himself  and  command  had  been  sent 
down  from  Mackinac  having  been  brought 
to  by  our  water  battery.  The  British 
journals  did  great  injustice  to  this  officer  by 
asserting  that  he,  when  killed,  was  in  the 
Fort  as  a  combatant,  breaking  his  parole ; 
when  in  truth  he  had  but  called  to  see  an 
army  friend  of  his,  and  was  standing  in  the 
gorge  of  the  north-east  bastion  in  conversa- 
tion with  him  when  struck  by  the  ball. 
The  same  ball  passed  on  and  mortally 
wounded  Surgeon  Reynolds  of  the  third 
regiment  volunteers,  by  taking  off  both 
legs  above  the  knee. 

Thursday,  August  13th,  arrived.  It  had 
now  become  absolutely  necessary  that  the 
greatest  vigilance  should  be  maintained  by 
our  guards,  and  that  the  outlying  pickets 
should  be  greatly  increased. 

The  Brig  Adams,  built  and  just  repaired 


HISTORY    OF   THE   WAR  OF    1812.  43 

at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Rouge,  had  been 
towed  up  by  a  party  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Kyle,  of  Clermont  county.  She 
had  her  masts  and  spars,  but  not  her  sails 
or  armament,  and  was  anchored  in  the  river 
just  above  the  foot  of  the  street  running 
down  by  Smith's  Tavern.  On  this  evening 
(13th)  the  guard  on  this  vessel  was  enjoined 
to  observe  especial  watchfulness,  lest  the 
enemy  should  attempt  under  cover  of  the 
darkness  of  the  night  to  cut  her  out.  And 
in  addition  to  the  usual  guard  on  deck,  a 
small  bateau  with  men  was  stationed  at 
her  bow,  and  another  at  her  stern,  whilst  the 
officer  in  command  occasionally  visited  each 
in  a  small  bark  canoe  propelled  without 
noise.  At  eleven  o'clock,  on  placing  the  ear 
close  to  the  surface  of  the  water,  the  sound 
of  quick,  though-  precise  stroke  of  oars  was 
heard,  the  sound  became  more  distinct,  and 
there  was  soon  seen  by  the  dim  starlight  a 
small  bateau  rapidly  approaching  the 
landing  at  the  foot  of  the  street,  containing 


44  A    CHAPTER   OF   THE 

two  men  at  the  oars,  and  two  sitting  aft.  On 
being  challenged,  the  boat  came  up,  and  one 
of  the  gentlemen  gave  the  word  and  counter- 
sign. He  was  well  known,  and  known  to 
have  the  confidence  of  the  commanding 
general  more  than  any  other  officer,  and  in 
almost  every  instance  had  been  entrusted 
with  the  duty  of  intercourse  by  flag,  with 
the  enemy.  The  other  gentleman  appeared, 
as  near  as  could  be  judged  by  the  dim  light, 
to  be  young,  well  formed,  of  military  bear- 
ing, and  as  they  both  left  the  bateau  and 
walked  up  from  shore,  seemed  rather  taller 
than  his  companion.  They  directed  their 
steps  to  the  head.quarters  of  the  command- 
ing general  and  entered  it,  remaining  three 
hours ;  they  then  returned  to  the  boat, 
crossed  to  the  Canadian  shore ;  the  boat 
came  back ;  one  of  the  gentlemen  only  was 
in  her.  He  gave  the  word  and  passed  on. 

At  that  time,  on  that  night,  the  capitula- 
tion of  the  Fort  and  surrender  of  the  north- 
western army  was  agreed  upon.  The  parties 


HISTORY   OF  THE   WAK   OF    1812.  45 

to  that  agreement  were  General  Hull,  and 
on  the  part  of  the  British,  Major  Glegg,  one 
of  the  aids-de-camp  of  General  Brock. 

This  is  a  historic  fact  which  Major  Glegg, 
if  alive  will  corroborate,  as  after  the  war  in 
1815,  at  a  hotel  in  Philadelphia,  he  com- 
municated his  participation  in  the  act  as 
above  stated  to  the  late  quarter-master 
general  of  the  north-western  army,  General 
James  Taylor,  of  Newport,  Ky. 

Previous  to  this  time  a  reinforcement,  as 
was  stated  of  two  hundred  and  thirty  men 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Henry  Brush, 
of  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  convoying  supplies,  in- 
cluding one  hundred  head  of  cattle,  had 
arrived  at  the  little  French  settlement, 
known  as  French  town,  at  the  crossing  of 
the  River  Raisin,  thirty-five  miles  from  the 
Fort.  Here  they  halted  in  consequence  of 
the  threatening  attitude  of  the  enemy,  and 
reported  to  the  commanding  general.  Com- 
mon military  conduct  would  seem  to  indicate 
the  marching  of  such  part  of  the  army  as 


46  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

would  in  any  emergency  be  equal  to  any 
effort  of  the  enemy,  in  the  direction  of  these 
supplies,  and  on  the  nearest  route  down  the 
main  road  until  they  were  met,  and  then  of 
conducting  them  to  the  Fort,  giving  the 
enemy  battle,  whenever  and  wherever  he 
should  make  his  appearance. 

This  was  the  expectation  of  the  army ;  but 
contrary  to  this,  orders  were  issued  from 
head  quarters  on  the  afternoon  of  Friday, 
the  14th  of  August,  for  a  detachment  of 
about  360  men,  under  the  command  of  the 
Colonels  of  the  first  and  third  regiments  of 
Ohio  Volunteers,  the  former  acting  as  senior 
officer,  with  directions  to  march  at  twilight 
on  the  line  of  a  circuitous  route  or  trail, 
which  passed  by  the  river  Rouge,  several 
miles  above  its  mouth,  and  continued  far  into 
the  interior,  passing  the  Huron,  and  striking 
the  Raisin,  passed  down  that  stream  or  near 
it,  to  French  Town.  Accompanying  the  order 
was  a  message  to  the  Colonels,  that  Colonel 
Brush  had  been  ordered  to  move  from  his 


HISTORY  OF  THE  WAR  OF    1812.  47 

camp  up  this  route,  and  would  doubtless  be 
met  between  the  Rouge  and  the  Huron,  and 
at  a  distance  not  exceeding  twelve  miles 
from  the  Fort ;  but  if  he  should  not  have 
advanced  so  far,  the  detachment  would  con- 
tinue its  march  until  he  was  met.  The 
officers  of  the  detachment  believing  that 
they  would  meet  Colonel  Brush  and  party, 
and  return  with  it  to  Detroit  by  two  or  three 
o'clock  A.  M.,  and  desiring  the  troops  to 
march  light  and  rapid,  directed  that  no  food 
or  baggage  be  taken  along,  not  even  their 
blankets,  nor  would  they  detain  for  supper. 
This  order  at  the  time  excited  no  parti- 
cular suspicion.  The  course  adopted  was 
attributed  to  timidity,  over-ruling  sagacious 
and  prompt  military  conduct  on  the  part  of 
the  commanding  general.  But  here  all 
were  deceived,  as  no  order  had  ~been  sent  to 
Colonel  Brush,  to  move  in  the  direction 

stated,  or  to  move  at  all. 

7  ( 

The  sole  object  of  the  movement  was  to 
reduce  the  active  force  at  the  Fort,  prelimi- 


48  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

nary  to  carrying  into  effect  the  capitulation 
which  had  already  been  agreed  upon,  to  get 
rid  of  a  large  number  of  officers  and  men 
known  to  be  keenly  sensitive  to  an  honor- 
able success,  and  had  been  openly  hostile  to 
the  inaction  of  the  army  when  -  in  Canada, 
and  to  the  recrossing  the  river,  and  who,  if 
present,  would  unquestionably  have  resisted 
to  the  extremest  point,  regardless  of  all  or 
any  consequences,  any  attempt  to  surrender 
the  Fort  or  the  army. 

The  detachment  marched  at  dusk,  cross- 
ing the  common  directly  in  the  rear  ot  the 
Fort  westward  for  near  a  mile,  entered  the 
forest  and  followed  a  path  which  at  length 
intersected  the  road  leading  from  Spring 
Wells  to  a  small  settlement  of  two  hewed 
log  two-story  houses  with  gardens  enclosed 
by  split  paling  fence,  which  stood  near  the 
bank  of  the  river  Rouge.  The  wagon 
road  passed  in  front  of  these  houses  and 
along  the  bank  of  the  river  for  a  consider- 
able distance.  Here  the  detachment  halted, 


HISTORY   OF  THE   WAR  OF   1812.  49 

seven  miles  from  the  Fort  by  the  road.  At 
this  point  looking  down  the  course  of  the 
stream,  I  saw  at  a  bend  of  the  river,  ap- 
parently a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant,  a 
single  horseman,  the  bright  starlight  re- 
vealing his  figure  against  the  dense  foliage 
around  him.  Struck  by  the  object,  I  turned 
to  my  friend  Captain  Mansfield,  of  the 
Cincinnati  Light  Infantry,  to  direct  his  at- 
tention to  it,  but  before  he  could  catch  the 
view  the  horseman  wheeled  and  disap- 
peared. 

As  it  was  possible  there  might  be  a  mis- 
take in  this,  that  it  might  be  an  optical  de- 
lusion, we  made  no  mention  of  it  till  long 
afterwards,  when  we  had  read  General 
Brock's  account  of  the  capture  of  the  Fort 
and  army,  contained  in  his  despatches  to 
his  government  (not  the  account  as  published 
in  Niles  Register),  in  which,  after  stating  his 
arrangements  for  his  intended  attack,  says, 
that  lie  was  more  especially  induced  to  an 
immediate  attack  in  consequence  of  liis  scout 


50  A    CHAPTER   OF   THE 

having  brought  in  the  information  on  the 
night  of  the  24th,  that  a  large  detachment  of 
the  enemy  had  been  seen  under  march,  three 
.mile   in  the  rear  of  the  point  selected  for  his 
landing. 

He  landed  near  Spring  Wells  on  the 
morning  of  the  16th,  at  which  time  his 
scouts  had  brought  him  the  intelligence  that 
this  detachment  was  on  the  preceding 
evening  (15th),  thirty-eight  miles  in  his  rear. 

This  official  statement  of  General  Brock 
completely  solved  all  doubts  or  mystery  in 
regard  to  the  preconcerted  arrangement  for 
a  capitulation,  and  elucidated  the  plan  by 
which  General  Hull  carried  it  into  effect, 
which  he  had  evidently  contemplated  prior 
to  the  re-crossing  the  river,  and  had  fully 
determined  on,  and  arranged  with  Major 
Glegg,  acting  for  General  Brock,  three  days 
previous. 

The  detachment  moved  on  five  miles 
further  to  the  point  at  which  Colonel  Brush 
was  to  have  been  met.  We  neither  saw  or 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  51 

heard  anything  of  him,  and  after  a  halt  of 
some  hours,  at  2  o'clock  A.  M.  of  15th,  con- 
tinued the  march,  crossed  the  Huron  at  the 
ford,  water  waist  deep,  nothing  but  a  trail 
through  the  forest,  marched  without  again 
halting  until  4  o'clock  p.  M.  having  reached 
the  upper  waters  of  the  Raisin.  Here  the 
detachment  halted  and  a  part  of  a  troop  of 
horse  was  sent  forward,  down  along  the 
route  to  within  twelve  miles  of  the  settle- 
ment of  French  Town.  They  returned  at 
6  o'clock  P.  M.  and  reported  no  sign  of 
Colonel  Brush.  He  had  evidently  not  left 
his  camp.  The  detachment  being  now  from 
thirty-five  to  forty  miles  from  Detroit,  com- 
menced its  return  march  ;  a  suspicion  flashed 
across  the  mind  of  many  that  something- 
disastrous  was  to  occur ;  though  even  yet  no 
one  suspected  the  commanding  general  of  an 
arranged  plan  for  a  capitulation.  It  halted 
for  an  hour  at  1  o'clock  A.  M.  on  the  16th, 
and  then  proceeded.  At  the  first  dawn  of 
day,  cannonading  was  heard  in  the  direction 


52  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

of  the  Fort ;  which  continued  at  times  with 
considerable  briskness,  till  about  10  o'clock, 
when  it  ceased ;  from  which  we  judged  that 
the  enemy  had  crossed  the  river  below  the 
town,  had  marched  up,  made  an  attack,  and 
of  course  having  been  repulsed,  had  re- 
treated. 

If  the  firing  had  continued  until  the  de- 
tachment had  reached  the  little  settlement  on 
the  river  Rouge,  it  would  have  entered  by 
the  Spring  Wells  road,  and  have  come  in  on 
the  left  flank  and  rear  of  the  enemy,  and 
doubtless  as  we  believed,  would  have  cap- 
tured the  entire  of  the  British  forces,  as 
they  would  have  been  between  the  fires  of 
our  volunteers  in  front  of  the  Fort  and  ours 
in  their  rear.  The  Indians  would  have 
given  way  as  soon  as  charged  upon  with  the 
bayonet,  as  they  had  at  the  action  at  Magu- 
aga  or  Brownstown,  and  as  they  always 
have  done. 

Entertaining  these  exhilarating  hopes, 
although  without  food  for  so  long  a  time, 


HISTORY   OF  THE   WAR  OF   1812.  53 

the  troops  composing  this  detachment  with- 
out exception  appeared  stimulated  by  the 
anticipated  and  hoped  for  conflict,  and  re- 
joiced in  the  expectation  of  achieving  a  fine 
affair,  and  having  after  all  satisfaction  for 
their  hard  tramp.  With  these  high  and 
cheering  expectations  they  not  only  marched 
in  double  quick  time,  but  actually  kept  up 
with  the  slow  trot  of  the  horse  for  at  least 
twenty  miles,  when  the  cannonade  having 
ceased,  they  resumed  their  usual  march,  and 
without  once  halting,  until  they  arrived  at 
about  1  o'clock  p.  M.  at  the  edge  of  the 
woods  which  we  had  entered  two  nights  be- 
fore; when  to  our  utter  astonishment  and 

t 

indignation  we  beheld  the  BRITISH  FLAG 
floating  from  the  flag  staff  of  the  Fort,  and 
the  Indians  in  the  extensive  common  before 
us  busy  taking  horses  and  cattle. 

The  FORT  of  DETROIT  and  the  NORTH- 
WESTERN ARMY  had  been  SURRENDERED  ! 
Our  detachment  as  we  soon  learned,  and 
even  Colonel  Brush  at  the  River  Raisin 


54  A   CHAPTER   OF  THE 

were  included.  Colonel  Brush,  however, 
decided  that  he  would  not  be  surrendered. 
He  detained  the  British  Flag  sent  to  inform 
him  of  the  capitulation,  in  polite  duress 
only  long  enough  to  give  his  good  fellows 
with  their  hundred  beeves  a  good  start  for 
Ohio,  where  they  all  arrived  safely. 

Here  we  may  pause  to  record  some  of 
the  momentous  consequences  of  this  most 
disastrous  and  infamous  act,  the  surren- 
der of  a  numerous  and  well  appointed 
army,  with  a  strong  fortress. 

The  whole  country  was  dishonored !  The 
Volunteers  of  Ohio,  composed  of  the  61ite 
of  the  State,  young  men  of  energy,  tal- 
ent and  patriotism,  many  of  whom  in 
after  life  became  her  governors,  legislators, 
senators  and  representatives  in  congress, 
and  not  only  established  and  directed  her 
civil  destinies,  but  also  gave  to  territories 
of  the  union  their  highest  officers,  and  to 
the  general  government  some  of  her  ablest 
representatives  abroad  and  statesmen  at 


HISTORY   OF   THE  WAR   OF   1812.  55 

home.  They  were  dishonored,  and  their 
State  was  dishonored.  Truly  the  "  weapons 
of  war  were  vilely  cast  away,"  not  by  those 
who,  with  brave  minds  and  quick  hands, 
would  have  wielded  them  to  the  destruction 
of  their  country's  enemies,  but  by  him,  who, 
as  a  national  calamity,  and  a  scourge  upon 
a  brave  people  and  a  righteous  cause,  had 
been,  in  a  fatal  hour,  appointed  to  their 
chief  command. 

And  above  and  beyond  all  this,  the  entire 
northwestern  frontier  was  thus  uncovered. 
The  Indians  far  and  near,  with  a  few  tribal 
exceptions,  now  joined  as  British  allies  in 
the  war.  All  the  evils  arising  from  a 
great  Indian  war  upon  an  extended  frontier ; 
all  the  blood  shed  at  the  massacre  at  FORT 
DEARBORN;  at  the  defeat  of  Winchester  on 
the  river  Raisin;  at  the  defense  of  FORT 
MEIGS  ;  at  the  defeat  and  capture  of  Dud- 
ley's Regiment  at  the  Maumee  ;  and  during 
the  protracted  continuance  of  active  hostili- 
ties throughout  the  northwest,  with  the 


56  A   CHAPTER   OF  THE 

great  loss  of  life,  independent  of  the  slain, 
together  with  the  immense  national  expense 
incident  thereto,  from  this  day  up  to  the 
battle  of  the  Thames,  were  the  fatal  results 
of  this  most  disastrous  act ;  an  act  appar- 
ently so  little  appreciated  or  comprehended 
as  to  its  consequences  by  the  Commanding 
General  at  the  time,  that  he,  evidently 
under  the  influence  of  extreme  timidity,  ra- 
ther than  encounter  the  enemy  and  achieve 
an  important  advantage  by  marching  upon 
Maiden  and  occupying  that  important  post, 
to  which  he  was  so  strongly  urged,  sank  into 
the  most  lamentable  condition  of  imbecility. 
This  or  treason  can  alone  account  for  his 
conduct,  and  a  merciful  feeling,  as  well  as  a 
mature  judgment,  points  to  the  former  ra- 
ther than  to  the  latter  as  the  over-ruling 
cause,  on  his  part. 

In  order  that  those  who  come  after  us, 
and  shall  occupy  the  domain  of  the  old 
northwestern  Territory,  at  a  period  of  time 
when,  by  the  acts  of  civilized  man,  there 


HISTORY   OF  THE  WAE  OF   1812.  57 

shall  no  longer  be  a  wilderness,  or  an  In- 
dian tribe  within  its  vast  limits,  may  the 
better  comprehend  the  condition  of  our 
country  at  this  time,  I  may  state  that 
only  the  eastern  and  southern  parts  of 
Ohio  were  settled,  and  that  even  these  por- 
tions of  the  State  were  but  thinly  peopled. 
By  drawing  a  line  from  near  Cleveland  on 
Lake  Erie,  to  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  River, 
all  north  and  west  of  that  line,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  old  French  posts,  with, 
their  feeble  settlements,  was,  as  it  respects 
our  race,  an  unbroken  wilderness,  an  un- 
touched forest,  occupied  by  powerful  Indian 
tribes,  with  no  other  defences  than  what 
the  feeble  stockade  posts,  known  as  the 
Forts  Wayne,  Dearborn,  Harrison  and  the 
really  strong  fort  of  Detroit  afforded.  This 
fort,  constructed  according  to  the  plan  of 
the  most  skillful  engineers,  situated  as  it 
was,  to  command  and  control  the  great  cen- 
ter of  Indian  power,  a  most  important  posi- 
tion from  which  to  move  on  and  control 


58  A  CHAPTER  OF  THE 

I 

Tipper  Canada ;  a  safeguard  and  protection 
to  our  frontier  settlements  during  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  war,  so  important  to  us  in 
every  respect,  should  have  been  maintained 
above  all  others,  at  every  hazard  and  at 
every  sacrifice.  This  was  the  judgment, 
and  this  was  the  feeling  of  every  intelligent 
man  in  the  northwestern  army. 

» 

We  recur  to  our  subject:  The  detach- 
ment of  the  army,  whose  movements  we 
are  narrating,  on  viewing  the  enemy's  flag 
floating  from  the  fort,  and  with  a  glance 
of  the  eye,  seeing  that  there  could  be  no 
recovery;  that  the  deed  was  fully  done, 
had  no  course  left  but  to  countermarch  to 
the  River  Rouge,  and  taking  position  in 
the  two  vacated  log  houses  and  gardens  be- 
fore mentioned,  proceed  to  deliberate  upon 
the  course  best  to  be  adopted  under  the  then 
existing  circumstances.  They  had  to  take 
into  consideration 

First.  That  the  troops  had  already  been 


HISTORY  OF  THE   WAE   OF    1812.  59 

under  march  for  two  days  and  two  nights 
without  any  subsistence. 

Second.  That  it  would  require  a  further 
march  of  from  forty  to  fifty  miles  to  arrive 
at  Col.  Brush's  encampment,  where  subsist- 
ence could  be  had.  And  it  was  extremely 
doubtful  whether  we  should  find  him  there, 
as  the  enemy  after  the  capitulation  could 
detach  the  greater  part  of  his  Indian  and 
some  of  his  civilized  force  to  move  upon 
him.,  and  by  marching  directly  down  the 
road,  could  easily  reach  him  several  hours 
before  we  could,  and  would  probably  oblige 
him  by  their  numbers  and  annoyance  to 
break  up  camp,  and  reach  Ohio  by  forced 
marches ;  or  if  he  should  have  heard  of  the 
capitulation  by  any  other  means,  he  would 
doubtless  have  lost  no  time  in  reaching  a 
point  of  security  for  his  men  and  valuable 
supplies. 

Third.  And  then,  and  above  all  other 
considerations  in  importance,  they  had  no 
ammunition  to  support  a  prolonged  action ; 


60  A   CHAPTEK   OF  THE 

having  merely  the  contents  of  their  car- 
tridge boxes,  which,  on  an  attack  of  the  In- 
dian force  alone,  (being  600  warriors), 
either  on  the  march  or  in  position,  would 
in  all  probability  have  been  exhausted  in 
two  hours. 

With  this  state  of  facts,  there  seemed  no 
reasonable  alternative  but  to  send  in  a  flag, 
and  ascertain  what  disposition,  if  any,  had 
been  made  of  this  part  of  the  army,  with 
the  determination  that  if  it  was  not  honora- 
ble on  their  part,  they  would  give  battle  in 
defense  of  their  log  houses  and  picket  gar- 
den, and  by  a  hard  fight  win  an  honorable 
surrender  when  victory  had  become  impos- 
sible. 

In  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  their  flag 
(Captain  Mansfield)  returned  accompanied 
by  Colonel  Elliott  and  Captain  McKee, 
both  heretofore  mentioned. 

The  detachment  having  been  included  in 
the  capitulation,  marched  in  by  the  Spring 


HISTORY  OF  THE  WAR  OF   1812.  61 

Wells  road;  stacked  their  arms  opposite 
to,  and  entered  the  citadel — so  called — be- 
ing an  enclosure  of  perhaps  two  acres,  sur- 
rounded by  sixteen  foot  pickets  of  squared 
cedar,  within  which  were  the  officers'  quar- 
ters, public  stores  and  other  buildings.  It 
was  10  o'clock  at  night ;  repose  was  sought 
for  rather  than  food,  with  the  greater  num- 
ber, a  fast  of  fifty-six  hours,  with  such  a 
tramp,  and  above  all  when  attended  with 
such  extreme  disappointment  and  mortifica- 
tion, had  destroyed  all  desire  for  food. 

The  next  morning,  obtaining  from  Major 
Muir,  the  officer  of  the  day,  in  immediate 
command,  the  privilege  of  passing  from, 
and  re-entering  at  pleasure,  several  of  the, 
volunteers  of  the  late  detachment  directed 
their  course  to  Smith's  tavern  for  breakfast, 
after  a  fast  of  sixty-six  hours. 

• 

y 

At  12  o'clock  of  the  17th,  the  British 
celebrated  their  achievement — no  one  called 
it  a  victory — by  firing  a  salute  from  the 


62  A   CHAPTER   OF  THE 

esplanade  in  front  of  the  fort,  General 
BROCK,  with  his  aids,  Majors  MacDonnel 
and  Glegg,  appearing  in  full  dress. 

They  used  on  this  occasion  one  of  our 
brass  six  pounders,  which  had  been  ta- 
ken at  the  great  revolutionary  triumph  at 
Saratoga,  on  the  16th  of  October,  1777, 
which  was  recorded  on  her  in  raised  letters 
of  brass.  Her  fire  was  responded  to  by 
the  Queen  Charlotte,  their  crack  vessel  on 
the  upper  lakes,  which  came  sweeping  up 
in  the  center  of  the  river,  and  directly  in 
front  replied  to  each  discharge,  wearing 
ship  with  swan-like  grace  at  each  alternate 

fire. 

GENERAL  BROCK. 

Whilst  awaiting  the  approach  in  position 
of  the  vessel,  General  Brock,  with  his 
aids,  one  on  each  side,  stood  two  rods  from 
the  gun,  and  obliquely  to  its  left  front.  I 
had  been  engaged  with  the  British  Quarter- 
master for  a  supply  of  bateaux,  in  which  to 
cross  the  lake  to  Cleveland,  and  being  now 


HISTORY   OP   THE  WAR   OF   1812.  63 

with  him  on  the  ground,  approached  the 
gun  to  read  the  inscription,  which  I  did 
with  interest,  when  one  of  the  Aids,  notic- 
ing me,  approached,  and  inspecting  it,  re- 
marked with  a  smile :  "  We  must  have  an 
addition  put  to  tJiat,  'retaken  at  Detroit, 
August  16,  1812.'  General  BEOCK  was 
an  officer  of  distinction.  His  personal  ap- 
pearance was  commanding;  he  must  have 
been  six  feet  three  or  four  inches  in  height ; 
very  massive  and  large  boned,  though  not 
fleshy,  and  apparently  of  immense  muscu- 
lar power.  His  Aids  were  elegant  young 
men,  very  near  if  not  quite  six  feet  in  height, 
and  in  their  splendid  uniforms,  all  three 
presented  a  brilliant  appearance.  But  how 
transitory  and  evanescent  the  gratification 
of  that  day  and  that  event.  In  a  few  short 
weeks,  less  than  two  months,  on  the  13th  of 
October,  1812,  two  of  these  noble  men  and 
gentlemanly  officers,  had  fallen.  At  this 
distant  day,  I  feel  it  due  to  myself  and  to 
them,  to  record  the  sentiment  of  regret 


64  A   CHAPTER   OF  THE 

which  impressed  itself  upon  my  mind, 
when  the  announcement  came  that  General 
Brock  and  Colonel  MacDonnel,  public  ene- 
mies as  they  were,  had  terminated  their 
earthly  career  at  Queenstown. 

Our  much  regretted  brass  field  piece, 
with  her  glorious  revolutionary  record  still 
upon  her,  untouched  and  unscathed,  came 
again  under  the  folds  of  the  stars  and 
stripes  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames.  And 
the  Queen  Charlotte,  the  first  war  vessel 
we  ever  saw  in  full  armament,  which  looked 
like  "  a  thing  of  life  "  as  she  sailed  up  the 
noble  stream,  with  her  flags  and  streamers 
flaunting  in  the  breeze,  fell  from  her  high 
estate  of  that  day  of  gaiety  and  triumph, 
and  forever  ended  her  career  of  honor  in 
that  great  struggle  for  power  on  the  upper 
lakes  on  the  10th  (tenth)  day  of  Septem- 
ber, 1813,  when  her  flag  descended  upon  a 

bloody  wave. 

«/ 

I  saw  her  afterwards  dilapidated  and 
despoiled  (like  some  ruined  mortal),  per- 


HISTORY   OF  THE   WAR  OF   1812.  65 

forming  the  drudgery  of  a  common  carrier 
in  the  harbor  of  Buffalo. 

But  I  am  wandering  from  the  facts  and 
incidents  of  the  time,  and  will  regain  my 
subject  by  bringing  into  view  some  of  the 
agencies  by  which  the  late  events  were  in- 
fluenced; first  among  them  was  that  to 
which  I  have  already  referred, 

THE   PROPOSED   ARMISTICE! 

Lieutenant  General  Sir  George  Prevost, 
Commander  in  Chief  of  the  British  forces 
in  Canada — headquarters,  Montreal;  Ma- 
jor General  Isaac  Brock,  in  command  of 
the  upper  province,  headquarters  at  York 
(now  Toronto),  found  themselves  on  the 
declaration  of  war  with  but  a  few  battal- 
ions of  regular  troops,  with  which  to  occupy 
and  defend  all  the  posts  from  Quebec  to  St. 
Joseph. 

A  part  of  a  company  only  was  stationed 
at  the  latter  place;  a  part  of  two  com- 
panies of  the  41st  regiment  at  Maiden;  a 


66  A   CHAPTER   OF  THE 

battalion  divided  between  Fort  Erie,  Fort 
George,  and  Burlington  Heights,  merely 
sufficient  to  take  care  of  these  posts  in  time 
of  peace,  and  serve  as  centers  or  rallying 
points  for  the  assembling  of  their  Indian 
allies  and  the  few  inhabitants  capable  of 
bearing  arms.  . 

The  declaration  of  war  was  unexpected ! 
The  American  Government  having,  from 
the  time  of  the  Chesapeake  in  1806,  put  up 
with  so  many  injuries  and  indignities,  it 
was  thought  in  Europe  that  the  American 
people  could  not  be  "  kicked "  into  a  war 
with  England.  Taken  thus  by  surprise, 
and  finding  that  the  northwestern  army,  in 
great  comparative  force,  had  invaded  Upper 
Canada  early  in  July,  these  experienced 
Generals  sought  such  expedients,  and  the 
creation  of  such  temporary  resources  as 
would  enable  them  by  concentration  on 
weak  or  exposed  points,  to  divert  our  atten- 
tion until  they  could  receive  reinforcements 
from  home. 


HISTORY   OF   THE    WAR   OF    1812.  67 

Finding  that  General  Hull,  instead  of 
marching  directly  upon  Maiden  with  his 
overwhelming  force,  and  occupying  that 
post  immediately  on  his  invasion  of  that 
remote  and  defenceless  portion  of  the  upper 
province,  as  they  and  all  other  persons  of 
military  experience  had  expected,  that  he 
remained  in  his  entrenched  camp  opposite 
Detroit  without  any  apparent  indications  of 
a  movement  in  that  direction,  they  resolved 
upon  a  proposition  of  an  armistice  on  the 
line  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Niagara 
frontier,  as  an  expedient  most  likely  to 
afford  them  an  advantage,  by  giving  them 
an  opportunity  to  act  against  General  Hull, 
and  especially  to  gain  time,  which  they  so 
much  needed. 

The  delay  of  action,  and  cessation  of  hos- 
tilities, along  this  extensive  portion  of  their 
line,  which  would  be  secured  during  the 
time  of  making  the  overture,  and  receiving 
an  answer  from  our  seat  of  government, 
especially  with  the  then  difficult  and  tedious 


68  A    CHAPTER   OF   THE 

means  of  communication,  would  afford  them 
sufficient  time  to  detach  a  few  troops  from 
the  posts  below,  when,  by  a  dash  on  the 
position  of  General  Hull,  they  might  suc- 
ceed in  frightening  him  into  a  surrender,  or 
at  least  cause  him  to  retreat  from  his  ad- 
vanced position,  and  evacuate  the  province. 

To  carry  this  stratagem  into  effect,  Ad. 
jutant  General  Edward  Bayne  was  dis- 
patched by  Lieutenant  General  Prevost, 
with  a  proposition  for  an  armistice  to  Gen- 
eral Dearborn,  commander  of  the  NORTH- 
ERN ARMY,  at  whose  headquarters  at  Al- 
bany he  arrived  on  the  4th  of  August. 

The  proposition  was  accompanied  by  a 
message  delivered  in  the  very  courteous 
language  of  his  accomplished  Adjutant 
General,  so  diplomatic  indeed  that  it  has 
been  adopted  by  the  statesmen  of  England, 
when  addressing  themselves  to  the  kind 
feelings  of  our  ministers  at  her  court,  at 
times  when  soft  words,  rather  than  argu- 
ment, could  be  best  made  use  of. 


HISTORY   OF  THE  WAR   OF    1812.  69 

'-'Sir  GEORGE  PREVOST,  entertaining  the 
"  most  friendly  feelings  for  General  DEAR- 
"BORN,  whom  he  has  had  the  honor  to 
"meet,  regrets  extremely  that  the 

"  two  nations  should  have  been  by  mere  ac- 
"  cident  precipitated  into  a  state  of  war,  *  * 
"  is  confident  that  his  sovereign  would  meet 
"  an  offer  of  peace  and  friendship  with  great 
"  anxiety ;  that  all  questions  heretofore  ex- 
"  isting  would  doubtless  be  settled ;  *  *  * 
"that  England  justly  engaged  in  a  long 
"  and  glorious  war,  most  anxiously  looked 
"forward  to  an  honorable  peace  with  all 
"the  world.  And  above  all  there  should  be 
"no  war  between  two  nations  of  the  same 
"origin,  the  same  laws,  and  the  same 
"  religion" 

General  Dearborn  engaged  to  transmit 
the  proposition  to  the  President. 

At  that  time  there  was  no  conveyance  by 
steam  power,  either  by  water  or  by  land ; 
and  no  telegraph.  The  most  rapid  means 
of  communication  was  by  couriers  on  horse- 


70  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

back.  The  object  of  the  proposition  was 
gained — thirty  days  of  time.  From  Mon- 
treal to  Buffalo  nothing  was  spoken  of  but 
the  "ARMISTICE!" 

Flag  after  flag  from  the  British  side  of 
the  line  announced  the  pleasing  fact,  and 
the  assurance  of  the  speedy  settlement  of 
all  difficulties.  The  frontier  villages  of 
New  York  were  tranquilized,  and  with  the 
exception  of  these  few  villages,  nearly  the 
whole  line  of  our  northern  frontier,  from 
Buffalo  to  Vermont,  was  a  thickly  and 
heavily  wooded  wilderness. 

General  Brock,  anticipating  the  success 
of  the  stratagem,  proceeded  to  collect  such 
force  as  he  could  prudently  withdraw  from 
his  posts,  and  by  much  exertion  succeeded 
in  organizing  a  few  militia;  at  the  same 
time  making  arrangements  for  their  tran- 
sportation to  Fort  Maiden,  and  as  soon  as 
advised,  by  express,  of  the  result  of  the 
proposition,  dashed  ahead  with  his  forty 
men  of  the  41st  Regiment,  detached  from 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR  OF   1812.  71 

the  little  garrison  of  Fort  George,  and  two 
hundred  and  sixty  militia,  striking  Lake 
Erie  at  Long  Point,  seventy  miles  above  Fort 
Erie,  so  as  not  to  be  seen  or  heard  of  by 
the  Americans. 

He  left  Long  Point  on  the  8th,  and  ar- 
rived at  Amherstburg,  near  Fort  Maiden, 
as  heretofore  stated,  on  the  12th  of  August. 
He  found  everything  favorable. 

General  Hull  had  already  broken  up  his 
camp  and  recrossed  the  river  in  the  night 
of  the  7th  and  morning  of  the  8th.  He- 
also  received  at  the  same  time  the  addi- 
tional and  most  gratifying  information, 
obtained  from  intercepted  dispatches,  that 
General  Hull  had,  at  a  Council  of  War,  held 
prior  to  this  date,  spoken  of  the  probabil- 
ity of  his  having  to  capitulate  at  no  dis- 
tant day. 

Thus  everything  appeared  to  give  as- 
surance of  success,  without  the  risk  of  a 
battle  or  the  loss  of  a  man.  General  Hull 


72  A    CHAPTER   OF   THE 

had  only  to  be  a  little  more  frightened  and 
then  summoned. 

On  the  13th  he  reconnoitered  the  position 
of  his  enemy,  and  receiving,  whilst  at  the 
little  village  of  Sandwich,  a  flag  from  Gen- 
eral Hull,  with  some  excuses  as  to  the 
burning  of  a  house  in  the  afternoon  after 
his  evacuation  of  Canada,  detained  the  flag 
until  late  at  night,  and  then  dispatched  his 
Aid,  Major  Glegg,  with  the  return  flag  to 
General  Hull,  demanding  a  surrender  of 
the  fort  and  army,  as  heretofore  stated. 

On  the  14th  our  detachment  was  selected, 
and  marched  out  from  position  near  the 
fort. 

General  Brock  remained  quiet  all  this  day. 
On  the  15th  he  established  his  headquar- 
ters at  Sandwich,  nearly  opposite  "Spring 
Wells,"  making  his  arrangements  for  cross- 
ing the  river.  In  the  evening  Captain 
Dixon's  battery  opened  its  fire  upon  our 
wagon  train,  stationed  on  the  common  near 
the  fort,  on  its  north  face  (the  horses  being 


HISTORY   OF  THE  WAR   OF   1812.  73 

in  stables  in  the  village  near  the  river), 
and  was  replied  to  by  our  water  battery  of 
seven  24  pound  long  guns  situated  near  the 
river  at  some  distance  above  the  upper 
angle  of  the  esplanade,  commanded  by 
Lieutenant  Daliba.  No  injury  was  done 
on  either  side. 

The-  communication  of  GENERAL  BROCK 
to  GENERAL  HULL,  of  the  night  of  the 
13th,  by  his  Aid,  Major  Glegg,  with  a  per- 
emptory demand  for  the  surrender  of  Fort 
Detroit,  containing  these  words  of  terrify- 
ing significance  to  him,  was  subsequently 
redated  as  of  this  day  as  follows : 

"Headquarters,  Sandwich,  Aug.  15,  1812. 

"  Sir,  the  forces  at  my  disposal  authorizes 
"  me  to  require  of  you  the  IMMEDIATE  SUR- 
"  RENDER  of  Fort  Detroit.  It  is  far  from 
"  my  inclination  to  join  in  a  war  of  EXTER- 
MINATION; but  you  must  be. aware  that 
"  the  numerous  body  of  INDIANS  who  have 
"  attached  themselves  to  my  troops  will  BE 


74  A   CHAPTER   OF  THE 

"BEYOND  MY  CONTROL  THE  MOMENT  THE 

"  CONTEST  COMMENCES/'  et 

*'  ISAAC  BROCK,  Major  General. 
"  His  Excellency,  BRIG.  GEN.  HULL, 
"  Commanding  at  Fort  Detroit." 

On  the  16th,  at  early  dawn,  Dixon's  bat- 
tery reopened  fire,  which  was  replied  to 
as  on  the  previous  evening,  one  ball  only 
entering  the  fort  at  about  9  o'clock,  as 
heretofore  mentioned;  no  other  damage 
occuring  during  the  cannonade. 

General  Brock  simultaneously  crossed 
the  river,  and  landed  at  "Spring  Wells;" 
formed  in  column,  and  marched  up  to  with- 
in ONE  MILE  of  the  fort  and  halted.  His 
Indian  force,  organized  and  led  by  Tecum- 
seh,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Elliott 
and  Captain  McKee,  landed  TWO  MILES  be- 
low, and  moved  up  in  the  edge  of  the 
woods  west  of  the  common,  keeping  a  mile 
and  a  half  distant.  The  strength  of  his 
force,  according  to  his  own  report  to  Lieu- 
tenant General  Prevost,  was  30  Royal 


HISTORY   OF  THE   WAE   OF    1812.  75 

Artillery,  250  41st  Regiment,  50  Royal 
Newfoundland  Regiment,  400  militia,  and 
about  600  Indians,  to  which  were  attached 
three  six-pounders  and  two  three-pounders. 

We    will    now  read  what    he    says  he 
intended  to  do  with  his  little  force : 

"  I  crossed  the  river  with  the  intention  of 
"  waiting  in  a  strong  position,  the  effect  of 
"our  force  upon  the  enemas  camp ,  in  the 
"  liope  of  compelling  him  to  meet  me  in  the 
"field;  but  receiving  information  upon  land- 
"  ing  that  Colonel  Me  Arthur,  an  officer  of 
"  high  reputation,  had  left  the  garrison  three 
"  days  before  with  a  detachment  of  five  hun- 
"  dred  men,  and  hearing  soon  afterwards 
"that  his  Cavalry  had  been  seen  THAT 
"  MORNING  THREE  MILES  in  our  rear,  I 
"  decided  on  an  immediate  attack  ! — by  as- 
"sault!  Brigadier  General  Hull,however, 
"prevented  this  movement  by  proposing  a 
"cessation  of  hostilities"  etc. 

This  is   too    transparent  to  be  noticed 
seriously.     In  the  first  place  we  will  look 


76  A   CHAPTER   OF  THE 

at  General  Hull's  reply  to  his  demand  for 
a  surrender  of  the  fort,  as  of  the  date  of 
the  15th,  in  which  he  uses  these  brave 
words : 

"  /  have  no  other  reply  to  make  than  to 
inform  you  that  I  am  prepared  to  meet  any 
force  which  may  be  at  your  disposal,  and 
any  consequences  which  may  result  from 
any  exertion  of  it,  you  may  think  proper 
to  make"  etc.  And  then,  behold  the 
evanescent  character  of  all  the  valor  that 
had  produced  this  display  of  heroic  rhetoric, 
when  at  10  o'clock  the  next  morning  he  in- 
vites his  enemy  to  receive  his  surrender  of 
the  fort  and  army  without  even  firing  a  gun ! 

And  then  as  to  General  Brock's  state- 
ment, that  he  first  learned  on  his  landing 
that  morning,  of  the  march  of  the  detach- 
ment, when  in  fact  the  inarch  of  that  detach- 
ment entered  into  his  arrangement  with 
General  Hull  on  the  night  of  the  13th; 
and  he  had  been  informed  by  his  scouts 
every  three  hours,  after  it  left  the  fort,  of 


HISTORY   OF  THE   WAR  OF   1812.  77 

its  advance  into  the  interior;  and  on  its 
march  far  into  the  interior,  he  well  knew 
depended  all  his  hopes  for  a  consummation  of 
the  arrangements  made  with  General  Hull ; 
and  all  that  he  says  about  having  been  in- 
formed that  the  "Cavalry  (being  the  head  of 
the  column)  of  our  detachment  had  been  seen 

THAT  MORNING  THREE  MILES   IN  HIS  REAR," 

when  it  was,  at  4  o'clock  of  that  morning, 
thirty-one  miles  from  Spring  Wells,  and 
that  this  fact  induced  him  to  march  on  the 
fort,  and  make  "  an  immediate  assault"  was 
evidently  made  up  to  help  his  miserable 
imbecile  enemy,  by  concealing  the  truth  of 
his  previous  arrangement  with  him.  The 
whole  thing,  evidently  gotten  up  in  a  hurry, 
wears  a  most  clumsy  appearance  as  nar- 
rated in  his  official  report  transmitted  by 
Major  Grlegg,  and  delivered  by  him  to 
Lieutenant  General  Prevost,  at  Montreal, 
and  which,  together  with  the  flag  of  the 
4th  United  States  Regiment  as  a  trophy, 
was  forwarded  by  that  officer  to  Earl  Bath- 


78  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

urst,  one  of  the  principal  secretaries  of 
State  of  his  government,  and  officially  pub- 
lished in  London.  To  march  forward  with 
730  men  and  five  small  guns  to  attack  a 
strong  fort,  mounting  and  having  under 
her  walls  twenty-six  pieces  of  ordnance, 
mostly  of  large  calibre,  loaded  with  ball 
and  grape,  with  1940  men,  posted  in  and 
around  the  fort,  and  to  make  an  escalade 
without  a  ladder  or  a  facine,  and  then  with 
the  360  men  of  our  detachment  at  his 
heels,  pushing  him  in  the  rear,  and  hurry- 
ing him  on,  presents  to  the  world  the  evi- 
dence of  Quixotism  or  lunacy !  And  Gen- 
eral Brock,  most  assuredly,  was  not  the 
victim  of  either  of  these  maladies. 

To  enable  the  future  to  better  under- 
stand the  present,  I  will  describe  some  of 
the  obstacles  General  Brock  would  have 
had  to  encounter,  provided  he  had  been  in 
earnest  as  to  his  attempt,  with  his  little  force, 
to  carry  the  fort  by  assault.  It  is  a  parallel- 
ogram, with  strong  bastions  at  each  angle, 


HISTORY   OF   THE  WAR   OF   1812.  79 

surrounded  by  a  moat  or  ditch,  twelve  feet 
wide  at  the  surface,  eight  feet  deep ;  a  pali- 
sade or  abbatis  of  hard  wood  stakes,  ten  feet 
high  out  of  the  ground,  sharpened  at  the  top, 
and  firmly  set  in  the  escarp  at  the  base  of  the 
rampart,  with  an  inclination  of  about  forty- 
five  degrees. 

The  rampart,  rising  perpendicular  twen- 
ty -  two  feet,  pierced  with  embrasures 
for  cannon,  strong  double  entrance  gate, 
with  portcullis  well  ironed  on  the  east 
front,  protected  by  a  projecting  frame  work 
of  hewed  logs  extending  over  the  moat, 
pierced  for  small  arms,  and  a  draw-bridge ; 
sally  ports  near  the  southwest  and  north- 
west bastions.  A  parapet,  banquette  and 
terreplein  around  the  entire  of  the  inside, 
in  the  bastions  as  well  as  the  body,  on  the 
latter  of  which  is  mounted  twelve-pound 
and  nine -pound  guns,  besides  those  of 
smaller  calibre,  and  also  two  howitzers; 
each  bastion  having  guns  raking  the  moat 
and  counterscarp. 


80  A   CHAPTER   OF  THE 

Standing  on  the  banquette  near  the  flag 
staff  at  the  southeastern  angle  of  the  body 
of  the  work,  and  looking  southward,  no 
house  or  building  intervenes.  All  to  the 
south  for  two  miles,  and  all  to  the  west  for 
one  to  one  and  a  half  miles,  is  a  level  com- 
mon. 

The  road  from  Spring  Wells  passes  up 
across  the  public  ground  between  the  fort 
and  the  river.  A  few  village  dwellings  are 
on  the  river  side  of  this  road  before  it 
reaches  the  public  ground ;  and  a  few  farm 
houses  on  the  west  side,  the  last  of  which 
is  that  of  Mr.  MAY,  whose  farm  adjoins  it, 
with  an  orchard  extending  back  to  the  com- 
mon, and  as  far  as  to  range  with  the  cen- 
ter of  the  southern  curtain;  fronting  this 
Spring  Wells'  road,  (and  it  is  the  only  one 
by  which  the  village  is  approached  from 
Spring  Wells,)  are  posted  two  twenty-four- 
pound  field  guns,  two  twelve-pound  iron, 
and  two  six-pound  brass  guns.  In  front  of 
the  southern  curtain,  fifty  feet  in  advance  of 


HISTOEY   OF  THE   WAR   OF   1812.  81 

the  counterscarp,  is  one  six-pounder ;  at  the 
southwest  angle  is  one  nine-pounder  and  one 
six-pounder;  in  front  of  the  western  or  rear 
curtain  is  one  six-pounder,  one  four-pounder 
and  one  three-pounder;  at  the  northwest 
angle  one  nine-pounder  and  one  four-poun- 
der, with  arrangements  to  rapidly  concen- 
trate at  any  point  at  which  the  enemy 
might  show  himself.  In  May's  orchard  is 
posted  the  1st  Regiment  of  Ohio  Volunteers ; 
next  to  them,  and  extending  around  to  the 
center  of  the  west  curtain,  is  the  2nd  Regi- 
ment, and  then  the  3rd  Regiment,  which 
covers  the  northwest  bastion  and  wagon 
train ;  whilst  in  the  fort  is  the  entire  of  the 
4th  United  States  Regiment  and  a  part  of 
the  Artillery  companies. 

All  these  guns  loaded  with  tall  and 
grape ;  all  these  troops  well  armed,  and 
with  abundant  supplies  of  all  kinds ! 

The  most  of  the  village  is  above  the 
public  ground,  and  between  the  road  and 
the  river,  and  in  looking  from  the  same 


82  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

stand-point  northward,  no  house  or  building 
intervenes  on  the  line  of  vision,  or  west  of 
it;  all  is  a  common,  extending  one  and  a 
half  to  two  miles  above,  and  one  to  one  and 
a  half  miles  westward  to  the  edge  of  the 
original  forest.  Adding  this  to  the  portion 
south  of  the  fort,  and  we  see  a  vast  open, 
grass  covered  common,  on  wrhich  is  grazing 
all  the  cattle,  and  horses,  and  sheep  of  the 
inhabitants — scarcely  a  bush  to  be  seen — 
no  place  for  Indians.  The  entire  of  the 
militia  of  Michigan — indeed  all  the  inhabi- 
tants, well  armed  and  supplied,  stationed  by 
their  commander,  Colonel  Brush,  of  De- 
troit, in  positions  best  to  protect  the  village. 
With  all  these  obstacles  in  full  view, 
General  Brock  speaks  of  directing  his  In- 
dian force,  the  same  Indians  that  seven 
days  previous  had  been  driven  from  their 
log  breast-works  and  forest  trees  by  a  de- 
tachment of  our  volunteers  of  about  an 
equal  number,  and  chased  three  miles  to  their 
boats,  these  Indians  to  cross  an  open  com- 


HISTOEY   OF  THE   WAE  OF   1812.  83 

mon,  and  attack  our  camp  right  under  the 
walls  of  the  fort,  whilst  HE  MADE  HIS  AS- 
SAULT !  when  no  one  knew  better  than  he 
did,  that  thirty  minutes  could  not  have 
elapsed  before  his  whole  force  would  have 
been  crushed  to  death,  or  made  prisoners  of 
war! 

He  possibly  thought,  as  no  sensible  man 
acquainted  with  the  facts  would  believe 
him  in  earnest,  he  might  utter  a  few  care- 
less words  to  shield  his  fallen  foe.  • 

AUGUST  17th.— I  proceed  with  the  inci- 
dents of  the  day:  General  Brock  lost  no 
time  in  returning  to  the  Niagara  frontier. 

Paroling  the  volunteers  not  to  serve  until 

< 

exchanged,  furnishing  them  with  boats  and 
vessels  to  pass  the  lake  to  Cleveland,  send- 
ing General  Hull  and  the  regular  troops  to 
Montreal,  and  his  militia  to  their  homes, 
issuing  his  proclamation  to  the  inhabitants 
of  his  conquered  Territory,  and  leaving 
Colonel  Proctor  in  command,  he  went  on 


84  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

board  the  Queen  Charlotte,  and  on  the  next 
day,  the  18th,  sailed  down  the  lake,  stop- 
ping at  Fort  Erie  and  Fort  George,  arriv- 
ing in  triumph  on  the  22nd  at  his  seat  of 
government,  which  he  had  left  on  the  5th ; 
moved  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  against 
his  enemy,  arriving  at  Maiden  on  the  12th, 
demanding  a  surrender  on  the  13th,  receiv- 
ing it  on  the  16th !  Achieving  the  con- 
quest of  a  strong  fort  with  thirty -eight 
pieces  of  ordnance,  an  immense  amount  of 
fixed  ammunition  for  cannon  and  for  small 
arms;  a  large  supply  of  the  material  of 
war  of  all  kinds ;  *  an  army  of  2,300 
effective  men,  AND  ONE  OF  THE  TERRITO- 
RIES OF  THE  UNITED  STATES;  all  without 
any  force  of  comparative  strength,  and  all 
within  eleven  days !  If  he  could  not,  with 


*  Copy  of  return  made  up  by  one  of  General  Hull's  Aids  and 
the  British  Quartermaster  in  my  presence,  and  furnished  me 
Detroit,  August  17, 1812. 

Return  of  Ordnance,  Ordnance    Stores,      Small  Arms, 
Fixed  Ammunition,  Munitions  of  War,  etc.,  surrendered 


HISTORY   OF  THE  WAR   OF   1812.  85 

the  renowned  Roman,  write . "  Veni,  vidi, 
vici"  he  could  truly  say,  /  came;  I  de- 
manded; I  received! 

On  the  30th  of  August,  at  9  o'clock  at 
night,  Captain  Pinckney,  Aid-de-camp  to 
General  Dearborn,  arrived  at  Montreal,  the 
headquarters  of  Lieutenant  General  Sir 
George  Prevost,  with  dispatches  announc- 
ing the  fact  that  "  the  President  of  the 

with  the  Army  at  Fort  Detroit  by  General  Hull,  and  re- 
ceived by  General  Brock,  16th  August,  1812. 

IKON. 

Twenty  ^four-pounders,  mounted  in  water  battery 7 

Twenty-four-pounders,  mounted  on  new  field  carriages....  2 

Twelve  pounders  in  and  around  the  fort 8 

Nine-pounders  in  and  around  the  fort 5 

Six-pounders,  in  and  around  the  fort 3 

Twelve-pounders,  not  mounted .- 4 

• 

BEASS. 

Six-pounders  at  the  fort 3 

Four-pounders  at  the  fort 2 

Three-pounders  at  the  fort 1 

Eight-inch  howitzer  at  the  fort 1 

Five  and  a  half-inch  howitzer  at  the  fort 1 

Mortar 1 

Iron,  29 ;  Brass,  9.    Total,  38  pieces. 

1,900  muskets  and  accoutrements,  stacked  by  the  effective 
men  of  the  4th  United  States  Kegiment  and  the  Ohio 


86  A   CHAPTER   OF    THE 

United  States  of  America  had  not  thought 
proper  to  authorize  a  continuance  of  the 
provisional  measures  entered  into  by  his  ex- 
cellency and  General  Dearborn  through  the 
Adjutant  General,  Colonel  Bayne,  and  that 
consequently  the  AKMISTICE  was  to  cease  in 
FOUR  DAYS/rora  the  time  of  the  communica- 

Volunteers  upon  the  esplanade,  as  they  marched  from, 
their  positions  in  and  around  the  fort. 
700  do.,  do.,  brought  in  by  the  militia  of  Michigan,  and 

stacked  upon  the  esplanade. 

450  do.,  do.,  brought  in  by  the  detachment  and  the  corps 
of  teamsters,  and  stacked  in  front  of  the  citadel ;  also 
a  large  supply  in  the  arsenal. 

480  rounds  of  fixed  ammunition  for  twenty-four  pounders. 
600  rounds  of  fixed  ammunition  for  six-pounders. 
840  rounds  of  fixed  ammunition  for  twelve-pounders  and 

other  pieces. 

200  cartridges  of  grape  shot  for  six-pounders. 
200  tons  of  cannon  balls  of  different  sizes. 
480  shells  prepared  and  charged  for  mortar  and  howitzers. 

60  barrels  of  gunpowder. 
75,000  musket  cartridges  made  up. 

25  rounds  of  cartridges  with  each  man  is  75,300. 
150  tons  of  lead. 

1        25  day's  provisions  on  hand  at  the  fort,  beside  the  sup- 
plies at  the  river  Raisin. 

These  words  added  by  W.  S.  H. :  "  With  an  abundance 
of  subsistence  in  the  vicinity,  beside  the  great  number  of 
cattle,  sheep  and  horses  feeding  on  the  common." 


HISTORY   OF   THE  WAR  OF    1812.  87 

tion  reaching  Montreal  and  the  posts  of 
Kingston  and  Fort  George"  Thus  ter- 
minated the  proposed  armistice. 

I  now  proceed  to  give  a  sketch  of  one 
who  has  already  exerted  great  influence  as 
an  auxiliary  in  the  events  narrated,  and 
who,  from  this  time  forward,  fills  a  conspic- 
uous and  important  station,  and  wields  a 
controlling  power  in  the  future  progress  of 
the  war  in  the  northwest — the  renowned 
Indian  chief,  the  greatest  of  his  race, 

TECUMSEH. 

I  am  aware  that  prejudice  has  at  all  times 
so  influenced  the  mind  of  many  persons, 
that  they  would  not  admit  the  existence  of 
the  attribute  of  greatness  in  any  of  the  In- 
dian race ;  at  the  same  time  they  readily 
admitted  that  this  extraordinary  man  ex- 
erted an  immense  influence  over  all  the  In- 
dian tribes,  and  possessed  distinguished 
abilities  as  a  warrior  and  orator.  It  is, 


88  A   CHAPTER   OF   THE 

however,  very  clear,  from  the  character  and 
power  of  his  mind,  evidenced  by  his  un- 
limited control  over  all  others  of  his  race 
for  so  long  a  time.  The  large  and  extended 
views  and  combinations  requisite  to  draw 
into  his  league  all  the  tribes  from  the  Rocky 
Mountains  to  New  York,  and  from  Lake 
Superior  to  Florida;  the  unlimited  devo- 
tion to  his  service  and  to  himself,  together 
with  his  great  power  as  an  orator,  by  which 
he  swayed  them  and  controlled  them ;  all 
these  furnished  conclusive  evidence  of 
greatness,  and  of  his  being  entitled  to  that 
high  appellation. 

Tecumseh  was  nothing  less  than  a  great 
man,  not  of  the  first-class,  as  that  is  very 
limited;  his  birth  formed  an  epoch  in  his 
tribal  annals,  from  the  circumstance  of 
which  he  was  looked  upon  as  a  prodigy 
from  his  first  existence.  lie  was  one  and 
the  youngest  of  three  brothers  at  the  same 
birth.  This  event,  so  extraordinary  among 
the  Indian  tribes,  with  whom  even  a  double 


HISTOEY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  „  89 

birth  is  quite  uncommon,  struck  the  mind 
of  his  people  as  supernatural,  and  marked 
him  and  his  brothers  with  the  prestige  of 
future  greatness — that  the  Great  Spirit 
would  direct  them  to  the  achievement  of 
something  great. 

. 

They  were  born  in  a  cabin  or  hut,  con- 
structed of  round  saplings  chinked  with 
sticks  and  clay,  near  the  mouth  of  Stillwa- 
ter,  on  the  upper  point  of  its  junction,  with 
the  Great  Miami,  then  a  pleasant  plateau  of 
land,  with  a  field  of  corn  not  subject  to 
overflow. 

These  facts  were  communicated  to  me  a 
short  time  after  the  council  at  Springfield 
in  1806,  (in  the  presence  of  Colonel  Robert 
Patterson,  one  of  the  original  proprietors 
of  Cincinnati,)  by  General  Simon  Kenton, 
who  was  more  familiar  with  the  Indian 
chiefs  and  Indian  tribes  of  the  northwest, 
at  the  period  of  their  greatest  power,  both 
in  war  and  in  peace,  than  any  other  man. 
He  stated  that  he  well  knew  all  the  broth- 


90  .  A   CHAPTER   OF   THE 

ers;  had  been  in  the  cabin,  so  situated, 
where  they  and  the  family  lived,  and  that 
other  Indians,  whom  he  knew  to  be  per- 
fectly reliable,  and  who  were  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  family  of  Tecumseh, 
had  fully  confirmed  the  above  statement,  as 
to  the  triple  birth,  and  the  location  of  their 
parents7  residence  at  the  time  of  their 
birth. 

I  am  more  particular  in  this  account,  as 
both  the  circumstances  and  place  of  their 
birth,  have  been  variously  stated  by  others, 
and  particularly  in  what  appear  as  the 
recollections  of  Colonel  Dale,  as  written  out 
by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Claiborne .  It  is  very  clear 
that  Colonel  Dale's  recollections  on  this 
point  were  erroneous.  His  information 
must  have  referred  to  a  remote  ancestor  of 
Tecumseh,  as  having  married  a  Cherokee, 
perhaps  his  grandfather  or  great  grand- 
father, instead  of  his  father.  If  such  a 
marriage  ever  took  place,  it  must  have 
been  before  the  migration,  which  was  as 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  91 

early  as  1730.  His  father  and  mother  un- 
doubtedly were  both  of  the  Shawanee  nation ; 
and  it  is  utterly  out  of  the  question  that 
TECUMSEH  could  have  been  born  on  the 
Tallapoosa. 

The  Shawanees  previous  to  their  migration 
from  North  and  South  Carolina  and  Georgia, 
(as  they  had  villages  in  all  these  states),  were 
generally  on  good  terms  with  both  the 
Cherokees  and  Creeks ;  and  when  they  did 
migrate,  crossed  the  Cumberland  Moun- 
tains, through  the  Cumberland  Gap,  and 
passed  on  through  the  great  hunting  ground 
of  all  the  western  tribes,  (now  the  State  of 
Kentucky),  striking  the  waters  of  the  Sandy 
River,  descending  along  its  course  to  the 
Ohio,  which  they  crossed  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Scioto;  at  w^hich  time  they  were  full  two 
thousand  warriors  strong.  They  ascended 
that  stream,  established  their  villages  "  OLD 
TOWN,"  on  Paint  Creek;  at  the  Pickaway 
Plains,  "OLD  CHILLICOTHE,"  above  the 
present  site  of  Xenia,  Greene  county,  (on 


92  A   CHAPTER   OF   THE 

the  ruins  of  which  Harmar  long  afterwards 
encamped,  when  his  first  detachment  sent 
out  to  find  them  was  so  terribly  worsted,)* 
and  on  the  Great  Miami,  between  where 
Dayton  now  stands,  and  Piqua,  in  Miami 
county.  As  I  knew  them,  they  were  truly 
noble  specimens  of  their  face,  universally 
of  fine  athletic  forms,  and  light  complexions, 

*  At  the  commencement  of  the  Anglo-Indian  war  of  1791, 
which  I  have  spoken  of  in  another  place,  so  little  was  known 
of  the  north-western  territory,  its  geography,  the  position 
and  course  of  its  rivers,  that  in  respect  even  to  that  portion 
of  it  now  included  within  the  State  of  Ohio,  many  errors 
of  description  were  made  and  published. 

The  confluence  of  the  Muskingum,  the  Scioto,  the 
Miamis  of  the  south  with  the  Ohio,  were  well  known,  but 
their  branches  or  affluents  were  involved  in  obscurity.  To 
this  cause  we  may  very  reasonably  attribute  the  errors  of 
HARMAR,  made  in  his  reports  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
describing  the  places  where  his  conflicts  with  the  Indians 
took  place  during  his  ill-fated  campaign. 

Harmar  was  from  the  east  of  the  Alleghanies,  an  oflScer 
of  the  regular  army,  with  no  apparent  capacity  to  conduct 
a  campaign  against  such  an  enemy. 

He  marched  with  three  hundred  and  twenty  regulars  from 
Ft.  Washington,  (a  stockade  enclosure  with  block-houses ;  its 
site  now  between  Broadway  and  Ludlow  streets,  divided 
by  Third  street  in  the  City  of  Cincinnati,)  on  the  30th  of 
September,  1791,  with  orders  to  destroy  the  Shawanee  Indian 
villages,  on  the  Scioto,  and  then  unite  with  the  troops  from 


HISTORY  OF  THE  WAR  OF   1812.  93 

none  more  so,  and  none  appeared  their 
equal,  unless  it  was  their  tribal  relatives, 
the  Ottoways,  who  adjoined  them.  The 
warriors  of  these  tribes  were  the  finest 
looking  Indians  I  ever  saw,  and  were  truly 
noble  specimens  of  the  human  family. 

None,  as  they  then  were,  are  now  to  be 
seen  upon  the  earth  !     They  have  all  passed 

Kentucky,  then  on  the  Wabash,  and  advance  to  the  Miami  of 
Lake  Erie,  destroying  all  Indian  villages  on  the  upper  and 
head  waters  of  the  Great  Miami,  the  St.  Mary's,  and 
wherever  found  by  the  combined  forces. 

He  advanced  northward  about  twenty-five  miles,  to  a 
position  on  the  Great  Miami,  at  which  Fort  Hamilton  was 
established  in  the  following  year,  by  General  St.  Clair,  and 
there  united  with  the  Volunteer  Militia  troops  from  Ken- 
tucky and  Pennsylvania,  who  had  as  the  main  part  of  his 
army  already  moved  in  advance,  those  from  Kentucky 
being  under  the  command  of  General  Hardin ;  his  entire 
combined  force  amounting  to  fourteen  hundred  and  fifty- 
three  men.  After  considerable  time  employed  in  making  his 
arrangements,  and  bringing  on  supplies,  he  moved  north- 
eastwardly upon  the  chief  town  of  the  Shawanees,  "  CHIL- 
LICOTHE,"  situated  about  six  miles  north  of  the  present 
site  of  Xenia,  Greene  county,  at  which  for  many  years  the 
grand  councils  of  the  tribes  of  the  north-west  had  been  held, 
when  consulting  on  their  general  interest,  and  especially  in 
their  long  continued  struggle  to  prevent  the  occupancy  of 
their  great  hunting  ground  by  the  white  race.  I 

This  celebrated  town  was  on  an  eminence  fronting  and 


94  A  CHAPTER  OF  THE 

away !  None  but  the  vilest  dregs  of  any 
of  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  old  northwestern 
territory  now  remain. 

Those  who  understand  the  immense  in- 
fluence exercised  over  the  minds  of  these 
people,  by  what  they  believe  to  be  super- 
natural events,  special  workings  of  the 
Great  Spirit,  will  not  be  surprised  at  the 

overlooking  the  rich  meadows  of  the  Little  Miami.  Its  re- 
mains I  examined  as  early  as  1 806,  at  which  time  numerous 
articles  of  Indian  construction  and  use,  stone  battle  axes, 
arrow  heads,  and  various  other  things  were  scattered  over 
the  ground. 

On  Harmar's  approach  he  found  the  smoking  ruins  of  a 
burned  and  abandoned  village ;  not  an  Indian  to  be  seen. 
They  had  sacrificed  their  "  Moscow,"  and  retired  ten  miles 
in  the  direction  of  the  confluence  of  Mad  River  and  the 
Great  Miami ;  took  up  an  advantageous  position,  and  awaited 
Harmar's  movements,  who  played  into  their  hands  by  sending 
a  small  detachment  under  General  Hardin  of  but  two  hun- 
dred and  ten  men  to  attack  them.  This  little  detachment 
they  cut  to  pieces.  Harmar  then  sent  his  forces  to  the 
Scioto,  who  destroyed  without  resistance  their  towns  and 
their  crops  on  the  borders  of  that  stream ;  when,  as  he 
alleged,  having  lost  several  of  his  horses,  he  abandoned  the 
idea  of  joining  the  Kentucky  forces  on  the  Wabash,  and 
broke  up  camp  in  order  to  return  to  Fort  Washington ;  but 
as  he  had  not  at  this  time  become  possessed  of  his  brilliant 
ideas  in  regard  to  "  VICTORIES,"  "  he  felt  desirous,"'  as  he 
said,  "  of  wiping  off  in  another  "  action  the  disgrace  which  his 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  95 

fact  that  when  General  Kenton  was  at 
the  residence  of  this  family,  as  hereto- 
fore mentioned,  he  found  undiminished 
faith  in  anticipated  achievements  and  bene- 
fits destined  to  be  wrought  and  triumphantly 
secured  to  their  tribe  and  race,  by  one  or 
more  of  these  remarkable  brothers. 

In  partial  fulfillment  of  this  anticipated 


arms  had  sustained"  He  halted  about  eight  miles  from  his 
camp,  (the  ruins  of  "Chillicothe,")  "  late  at  night"  and 
again  detached  General  Hardin  with  but  "three  hundred 
and  sixty  men  to  find  the  enemy,  and  bring  him  to  action." 
EARLY  THE  NEXT  MOKNING  that  intrepid  and  brave  officer 
reached  the  confluence  of  Mad  Eiver  and  the  Great  Miami, 
where  he  found  the  Indians  in  great  force ;  who  with  skillful 
manoeuvers  brought  him  within  their  lines  when  his  little 
detachment  was,  as  in  the  case  of  the  first,  overwhelmed  and 
nearly  all  destroyed.  The  skeleton  of  Hardin's  little  force 
regained  head-quarters. 

New  it  was  that  Harmar  in  making  his  official  report  to 
the  Secretary  of  War,  conceived  the  grand  idea  of  claiming 
as  signal  victories  his  two  engagements  with  the  enemy, 
alleging  that  inasmuch  as  the  United  States  with  their  vast 
population  would  not  feel  the  loss  of  one  hundred  men  as 
much  as  the  Indians  with  their  inferior  number  would  feel 
the  loss  of  one  man,  therefore  he  had  obtained  "  two  signal 
victories  over  them" 

Chief  Justice  Marshall,  however,  in  recording  these  events 
could  not  see  it  in  that  light ;  and  history  with  unrelenting 


96  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

destiny,  one  of  the  brothers  was  soon  after- 
wards proclaimed  and  publicly  acknow- 
ledged as  the  "PROPHET  OF  THE  GREAT 
SPIRIT,"  whilst  another  of  them,  TECUMSEH, 
who  at  the  council  held  at  Springfield,  in 
1806,  to  which  I  have  heretofore  referred, 
fully  established  his  reputation  as  the  great 
orator  of  his  race,  and  rose  to  the  distin- 
guished station  of  leader  and  chief  warrior 
of  all  the  tribes  of  the  northwest.  As  this 

obstinacy,  persists  in  calling  such  a  complete  cutting  up  and 
slaughter  a  defeat  instead  of  a  victory. 

Yet  with  all  his  knowledge  on  every  other  subject,  so 
great  was  the  obscurity  in  respect  to  the  geography  of  our 
old  north-western  territory  at  that  time,  that  the  learned 
and  astute  Chief  Justice  inadvertently  copied  HARMAR  when 
he  describes  this  last  action  as  having  taken  place  at  the 
junction  of  the  "  ST.  JOSEPH  AND  ST.  MARY,"  when  in  fact 
Harmar  was  not  within  one  hundred  miles  of  that  important 
.  position. 

He  returned  to  Fort  Washington,  and  the  few  who  formed 
the  then  little  village  of  CINCINNATI,  condemned  him  for 
having  fought  his  enemy  with  small  detachments,  instead  of 
his  whole  army. 

This  last  action,  just  above  the  junction  of  Mad  River 
with  the  Great  Miami,  was  the  time  and  the  field  in  which, 
as  I  have  stated  in  another  place,  TECUMSEH,  then  a  mere 
lad  of  16  years  of  age,  made  his  advent  as  a  youthful 
warrior. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   WAR   OF   1812.  97 

council  was  the  time  and  the  occasion,  when 
his  power  and  abilities  as  an  orator  were 
first  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  public, 
and  became  fully  acknowledged  by  our 
agents  and  citizens,  as  well  as  the  Indian 
chiefs,  who  attended  it,  I  will  describe  it. 
A  white  man  had  been  shot  and  killed  in 
the  woods  not  far  from  the  present  site  of 
Troy,  in  Miami  county ;  it  was  charged 
upon  a  Pottawatamie.  The  United  States 
Indian  agents,  General  Kenton  and  Colonel 
Patterson,  demanded  that  he  should  be  given 
up  to  be  tried  and  punished  according  to 
our  laws  in  conformity  to  treaty  stipulations. 
The  demand  was  evaded.  The  Indians 
were  called  in  to  hold  a  council  on  the 
matter  at  Springfield,  Clarke  county,  then 
a  new  settlement  of  a  dozen  families. 
Three  hundred  Indians,  from  various  tribes 
assembled ;  all  armed  to  the  teeth.  They 
were  of  course  required  to  leave  their  arms, 
except  their  side  arms,  the  tomahawk, 
(which  was  at  that  time  made  with  the  head 


98  A    CHAPTER   OF   THE 

so  formed  as  to  be  a  bowl  of  a  pipe,  with  a 
hole  in  the  handle  through  which  to  draw 
the  smoke,)  at  their  encampment  on  the 
creek,  nearly  a  mile  distant. 

The  council  was  opened  as  usual,  by  pass- 
ing round  the  diplomatic  pipe,  the  Indian 
emblem  of  peace,  and  token  of  amity  and 
good  will.  The  oldest  chief  present,  Tarfee 
(or  the  Crane),  principal  chief  of  the 
Wyandots,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  treaty 
of  Greenville,  1795,  commenced  the  cere- 
mony; none  but  chiefs  and  chief  warriors 
were  present,  and  they  were  all  members 
of  the  council.  They  were  arranged  in  a 
semi-circle,  in  front  of  the  agent's  stand. 
The  ceremonies  being  concluded,  the  agent 
made  a  '  statement  of  the  object  of  the 
council,  the  fact  of  the  murder,  the  de- 
mand for  the  murderer,  and  the  evident 
reluctance  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  to 
comply  with  their  treaty  stipulations,  and 
preserve  a  good  state  of  feeling  and  conduct 
on  their  part  towards  us.  The  old  chief  of 


HISTORY   OF  THE  WAR   OF   1812.  99 

the  Wyandots,  and  the  chief  of  the  Ottoways 
replied  in  a  conciliatory  style,  with  the  usual 
expressions  of  good  faith,  and  the  desire  to 
live  on  good  terms  with  their  white  brethren, 
etc.  All  was  apparently  going  on  satisfac- 
torily, when  Tecumseh  arose  and  commenced 
his  address.  He  continued  his  oration  for 
three  hours ;  commencing  with  the  first  ag- 
gressions of  the  white  men,  and  bringing 
down  his  traditional  history  from  the  first 
settlement  at  Jamestown  and  Plymouth  to 
his  own  time.  The  effect  of  his  bitter,  burn- 
ing .words  of  eloquence  was  so  great  on  his 
companions,  that  the  whole  three  hundred 
warriors  could  hardly  refrain  from  springing 
from  their  seats.  Their  eyes  flashed,  and 
even  the  most  aged ;  many  of  whom  were 
smoking,  evinced  the  greatest  excitement. 
The  orator  appeared  in  all  the  power  of  a 
fiery,  and  impassioned .  speaker  and  actor. 
Each  moment  it  seemed  as  though,  under 
the  influence  of  his  overpowering  eloquence, 


100  A   CHAPTER   OF  THE 

they  would  all  abruptly  leave  the  council 
and  defiantly  return  to  their  homes. 

On  the  conclusion  of  his  address  Tecum- 
seh  stood  for  a  moment,  turned  his  back 
upon  the  agent's  stand,  and  walking  to  the 
extremity  of  the  circle  opposite,  took  his 
seat  among  the  young  braves,  glancing 
with  lofty  pride  upon  the  agents.  The 
interpreter  then  proceeded  to  give  his 
version  of  the  speech,  but  confessed  after- 
wards that  there  were  portions  of  it  so 
grand,  lofty,  and  powerful,  that  he  could  not 
pretend  to  reproduce  them,  and  that  there 
were  other  portions  in  which  he  had  been 
describing  the  wrongs  of  the  Indian  race, 
inflicted  by  the  white  man,  that  were  so 
defiant,  so  wrathful,  so  denunciatory,  and 
so  full  of  indignant  abuse,  that  he  dare  not 
translate  them,  fearing  that  General  Kenton 
would  not  put  up  with  it,  and  that  it  might 
cause  the  breaking  up  of  the  council,  and 
leave  unsettled  the  important  matter  for  which 
it  had  been  called.  On  further  consultation 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  101 

a  reconciliation  of  the  so  nearly  hostile 
parties  took  place.  It  being  proved  that 
the  murder  was  the  act  of  an  individual 
as  yet  unknown,  and  not  properly  charge- 
able on  any  of  the  Indian  tribes. 

It  was  not  that  there  was  any  diminu- 
tion in  the  power  which  Tecumseh  ex- 
ercised over  the  minds  of  all  the  tribes, 
nor  any  diminution  of  their  confidence  in 
his  genius  and  destiny,  that  caused  him  to 
be  left  in  July,  1812,  with  but  sixty  war- 
riors, nor  was  it  that  the  hostile  feeling 
on  his  part  or  on  that  of  his  Indian  al- 
lies had  in  any  measure  lessened  since 
the  conflict  at  Tippecanoe,  on  the  7th  of 
November  previous ;  nor  had  the  incessant 
efforts  of  the  British  official  agents  to  keep 
alive,  and  if  possible  increase  that  hostility, 
in  any  way  been  diminished  or  neglected. 
On  the  contrar}r,  as  the  probabilities  of  war 
between  the  two  countries,  increased,  and 

became  more  apparent,  they  redoubled  their 
5 


102  A   CHAPTER   OF   THE 

active  exertions  to  excite  the  Indians  to  the 
greatest  degree  of  ferocity  against  us. 

They  enlarged  and  greatly  added  to  the 
variety  and  value  of  their  usual  presents, 
furnished  them  abundantly  with  arms  and 
ammunition  from  Maiden,  and  took  every 
means  calculated  to  cement  their  bonds  of 
friendship  with  them. 

The  only  cause  of  the  diminution  of  the  in- 
dian  force  under  Tecumseh,  at  this  time, 
was  the  display  of  power  made  by  the 
marching  columns  of  the  northwestern 
army,  in  full  view,  over  the  wide  prairies 
and  open  barrens  between  the  rapids  of  the 
Maumee  and  the  river  Raisin. 

They  appeared  to  be  impressed  with'  the 
belief  that  any  effort  on  their  part  with 
their  force,  then  in  arms,  whilst  their  Brit- 
ish friends  were  so  feeble  in  number  and 
power,  as  they  then  were  at  Maiden,  would 
be  unavailing  of  success  against  so  great  an 
army  as  ours.  Therefore,  three  hundred 
and  fifty  warriors,  who  had  participated  in 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  103 

• 

the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  and   up  to  this 

* 

time  were  still  held  in  council  at  Browns- 
town,  between  the  Huron  and  Detroit,  desir- 
ous of  war,  in  their  cause,  anxious  to  keep  on 
the  best  of  terms  with  their  powerful  allies, 
from  whom  they  received  all  their  supplies, 
and,  above  all,  unwilling  to  separate,  even 
for  a  season,  from  their  great  leader.  Yet 
seeing  this  great  disparity  of  force,  with  no 
reasonable  prospect  of  success,  they  all, 
with  the  exception  of  about  one  hundred  of 
his  most  devoted  followers,  reluctantly 
abandoned  for  the  time  their  then  hopeless 
cause,  and  returned  to  their  tribes,  and  in 
the  event  of  the  capture  of  Maiden,  which 
no  one  doubted  for  a  moment,  they  would 
not  have  again  appeared  in  hostility  against 
us.  There  would  have  been  no  Indian 
war;  no  massacre  at  Fort  Dearborn, 
(Chicago),  or  at  the  river  Raisin ;  none  of 
that  vast  waste  of  valuable  life,  indepen- 
dent of  the  slain  resulting  from  exposure, 
fatigue,  privation  and  suffering  in  the 


104  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

swamps   of   the   northwestern    wilderness, 
during  the  next  ensuing  two  years. 

Those  who  have  been  familiar  with  the 

.  Indians  of  the  northwest,  when  they  were 
Indians,  and  took  sufficient  interest  in  them 
as  a  race  to  study  with  care  their  customs, 
laws  and  usages,  are  aware  that  when  attend- 
ing councils  with  other  nations  or  tribes,  or 
with  our  agents,  they  are  always  acting  a 
part,  a  kind  of  diplomatic  drama,  and  that 
their  "war  dance'  is  really  a  PANTOMIME, 
exhibiting  their  art  of  war.  The  declaration, 
the  march  upon  their  enemy,  the  near  ap- 
proach indicated  by  their  crouching  attitude, 
stealthy  step  and  anxious,  piercing  look — 

tthe  sight  of  their  enemy;  their  yell  and 
frantic  dash  upon  him ;  their  struggle  in  a 
hand  to  hand  contest ;  the  blows  of  the  war 
club,  and  wielding  of  the  tomahawk ;  the 
crushing  and  destruction  of  their  foe ;  the 
flashing  of  the  inevitable  scalping  knife, 
triumphantly  closing  the  scene  with  the 
evidence  of  victory;  the  bloody  scalp  held 


HISTORY   OF  THE   WAR   OF   1812.  105 

high  in  air,  and  greeted  with  a  horrid  yell ! 

All  the  ancient  nations  had  their  war 
cry;  the  Greek,  the  Roman,  the  Cartha- 
genian,  all  had  their  inspiring  shout  of 
onset  at  the  commencement  of  a  battle. 
Who  has  not  heard  of  the  slogan  of  the 
Scottish  Highlander  ?  Yet  I  doubt  not  the 
*  war  whoop"  and  "yell"  of  our  Indians  of 
the  old  northwestern  Territory,  was  more 
terrific  than  any  of  them. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  nearly  all  the 
races  of  which  the  human  family  is  com- 
posed, possess  some  distinguishing  charac- 
teristic feature,  indicative  of  their  ferocity, 

brutality,  or  of  their  refinement  or  benevo- 

«/  ? 

lence.  The  descendant  of  Ishmael,  the 
Arab  of  the  desert,  is  said  to  carry  the  evi- 
dence of  his  treachery  and  cruelty,  which 
have  defied  the  influence  of  civilization  for 
thirty  centuries,  in  the  form  and  expression 
of  his  mouth ;  whilst  our  old  northwestern 
Indians,  almost  without  exception,  as  I  ob- 
served them  with  interest,  with  the  beautiful 


106  A   CHAPTER   OF   THE 

mouth  and  teeth  of  the  Greek  in  his  highest 
civilization,  presented  to  the  observer  the 
evidence  of  his  ferocity  and  savageism,  as  well 
as  his  determined  bravery,  in  his  fiery  eye ! 
He  is  proud,  candid,  confiding  in  time  of  peace, 
never  forgetting  a  kindness,  or  forgiving  an 
injury ;  not  treacherous,  except  as  a  part  of 
his  war  tactics,  and  brave  in  the  fullest 
sense  of  the  term. 

Such  were  the  Indians  of  the  old  Shaw- 
anee,  Ottoway,  Miami  and  Delaware  tribes, 
with  whom  I  was  most  familiar,  both  in 
times  of  war  and  peace,  in  councils,  in 
camps,  on  fields  of  conflict,  and  in  peaceful 
intercourse,  in  the  years  1804  to  1816. 

The  Wyandotts,  Chippeways,  Winneba- 
goes,  Pottawattomies  and  Kickapoos,  occu- 
pying the  northwestern  Territory,  at  the 
same  time,  always  appeared  to  me  as  in- 
ferior branches  of  the  race.  The  superior 
and  the  inferior,  alike  however,  have  passed 
away,  and  given  place  to  a  race  charged 
with  a  higher  destiny,  leaving  behind  them 


HISTORY  OF  THE  WAR  OF   1812.  107 

none  but  the  shattered  and  wronged  rem- 
nants of  a  mighty  people,  who,  in  fulfilling 
the  inscrutable  decrees  of  Providence  in 
regard  to  them,  yet  linger  upon  the  earth, 
many  of  them  the  miserable  victims  to  the 
degrading  vices  of  a  boastful  but  treacher- 
ous and  cruel  civilization. 

The  Indians  occupying  the  geographical 
limits  of  the  United  States,  and  British 
possessions  north  of  us,  possess  two  exalted 
qualities  of  mind,  lofty  principles  of  action, 
noble  traits  of  individuality,  unchangeable, 
inherent,  which,  if  accompanied  by  civiliza* 
tion,  would  have  ranked  them  above  all 
other  races  of  men,  and  even  without  this, 
and  in  their  present  degraded,  fallen  con- 
dition, claim  for  them  the  sympathy,  if 
they  can  not  receive  the  respect,  of  all  hon- 
orable and  good  men. 

They  never  worshiped  idols. 

They  never  were  slaves. 

They  acknowledged  one  great,  creating, 
overruling  GOD,  to  whom  they  applied  the 


108  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

perfectly  correct  term,  the  "  GREAT  SPIRIT," 
whose  power  they  beheld  in  the  storm,  the 
lightning,  the  thunder  and  the  whirlwind ; 
whose  goodness  and  benign  influence  they  saw 
and  felt  in  the  genial  breeze,  the  early 
flower,  the  growing  grass  of  the  spring,  the 
fowl  of  the  air,  the  fish  of  every  water,  the 
multitude  of  animals  given  for  their  use, 
and  feeding  on  every  plain,  and  every  hill, 
and  in  every  solitude ;  and  when  they  laid 
down  at  night,  they  beheld  His  starry  can- 
opy above  them  brilliant  and  glorious ; 
whilst  all  around  them  was  their  dominion 
and  their  home.  They  abhor  as  a  crime, 
and  lament  as  a  loss,  the  wanton,  reckless 
destruction  of  those  God-given  means  of 
subsistence,  so  barbarously  and  cruelly  in- 
dulged in  by  our  portion  of  the  white  race. 

Always  free!  Every  other  race,  every 
other  people  of  the  earth,  are  and  have 
been  slaves ! 

The  BLACK  race,  always  slaves  abroad, 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  109 

and  worse  slaves  to  their  brutal  tyrants  at 
home ! . 

The  YELLOW  race,  never  free,  since  their 
earliest  tribal  existence 

The  WHITE  race,  the  enslavers  of  all 
others,  as  well  as  themselves,  ALWAYS 
SLAVES  in  some  form,  they  surrender  their 
sovereign  power  of  self-government,  and 
yield  their  liberty  and  manhood  to  a  SAUL, 
or  to  a  monied  Aristocracy,  a  corrupt  cen- 
tral power  with  a  great  public  debt,  either 
oi  which  enslaves  them ;  whilst  the  INDIAN 
walks  forth  upon  the  earth  free  as  the  air 
he  breathes,  knowing  no  superior,  but  the 
ever  glorious  Almighty  GOD  who  made 
him,  with  a  sublime  pride,  always  ready  to 
surrender  his  life,  but  never  his  liberty ! 
Never  basely  DISHONORING  HIMSELF  by  be- 
coming the  slave  of  his  equal  in  creation, 
nor  OFFENDING,  in  the  highest  degree,  the 

EVER   GLORIOUS   BLESSED     SPIRIT,  by   vilely 

deserting  and  abandoning  the  post  of  honor, 
the  highest  front  rank  of  his  earthly  crea- 


110  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

tion  assigned  Tiim,  and  by  his  own  infamy 
becoming  the  mere  co-worker  and  co-equal 
of  the  brute. 

So  has  it  always  been  with  the  black  race ! 

So  has  it  always  been  with  the  yellow 
race! 

So  has  it  always  been  with  the  white 
.race;  and  so  has  it  always  been  with  our 
old  indian  race! 

I  place  this  upon  record,  as  there  can 
never  be  another  "  PHILLIP,"  or  "  PONTIAC," 
or  "  TECUMSEH  !" 


The  renowned  "PKOPHET"  lost  his  pres- 
tige and  influence  by  precipitating  his  un- 
successful attack  upon  our  army  at  Tippe- 
canoe,  on  the  7th  November,  whilst  TE- 
CUMSEH was  absent  on  his  mission  to  the 
Chickasaws,  Cherokees,  Seminoles,  old  allies 
of  his  tribe,  arranging  his  plans,  and  bring- 
ing into  his  confederation  or  league  all  the 
tribes,  to  regain  if  possible  their  old  boun- 
daries, and  at  all  events  to  resist  the  fur- 


HISTOKY   OF  THE    WAR  OF   1812.  Ill 

ther  encroachments  of  the  white  race,*  hav- 

*  TECUMSEH  sought  to  establish  it  as  the  great  national 
law  of  all  the  tribes,  that  no  one  tribe  or  nation  should 
have  the  power  to  sell  any  part  of  their  land,  without  the 
consent  of  all  the  tribes  or  nations ;  and  in  his  endeavors  to 
establish  this  great  principle,  he  visited  many  times,  devot- 
ing all  his  energies  and  great  talents  with  unceasing  effort, 
every  nation  and  tribe  this  side  the  Kocky  Mountains,  and 
from  Lake  Superior  to  the  ocean,  and  at  the  same  time  com- 
bining all  the  Indian  nations  in  a  grand  confederacy,  to 
support  this  general  law,  by  a  war  of  resistance  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States  in  their  encroachments  upon 
them.  This  great  subject  employed  every  day  of  his  time 
and  every  power  of  his  mind,  from  the  year  1804  to  1813, 
when  himself  and  his  cause  perished  forever. 

At  an  official  conference  with  General  Harrison,  then 
Governor  of  the  Indiana  Territory,  at  Vincennes,  in 
1810,  in  answer  to  a  question  on  the  subject  by  the  General, 
he  asserted  his  policy  openly  and  fully,  that  he  was  form- 
ing a  grand  confederacy  of  all  the  nations  and  tribes  of 
Indians  upon  the  continent,  for  the  purpose  of  putting  a 
stop  to  the  encroachments  of  the  white  people ;  and  in  his 
argument  in  defense  of  his  course,  said,  that  "  the  policy 
which  the  United  States  pursued  of  purchasing  in  unceas- 
ing detail  their  lands  from  the  separate  Indian  tribes,  he 
viewed  as  a  mighty  water ,  ready  to  overflow  his  people,  and 
that  the  confederacy  which  he  was  forming  among  the 
tribes  to  prevent  any  individual  tribe  from  selling  without  the 
consent  of  the  others,  was  the  DAM  he  was  erecting  to  resist 
this  mighty  water"  He  added  in  conclusion  :  "  Your  great 
Father  may  sit  over  the  mountains  and  drink  his  wine;  but 
if  he  continues  this  policy  you  and  1  will  have  to  fiyld  it  out  I 

And  so  it  was.  These  two  highly  distinguished  men 
did  "fight  it  out."  This  "prophetic"  declaration  was  verified. 


112  A   CHAPTER   OF  THE 

ing  given  positive  orders  before  leaving  his 
camps  on  the  Vermillion  and  at  Tippecanoe, 
two  months  previous  to  the  battle,  that  no  at- 
tack upon  the  white  man  should  be  at- 

I 

tempted,  or  in  any  way  made  in  his  absence. 
He  was,  therefore,  greatly  surprised  and 
exceedingly  indignant,  when  on  his  return, 
and  reaching  the  upper  Chickasaws,  in  wes- 
tern Tennessee,  he  heard  that  his  brother 
had  brought  on  and  fought  a  premature  and 
unsuccessful  action ;  thereby  interfering 
with  his  views,  deranging  his  proposed 
plans,  and  above  all,  disobeying  his  orders 
as  the  universally  acknowledged  war  chief 
of  all. 

From  this  time  the  "  PEOPHET  "  ceased 
to  have  influence,  fell  into  obscurity,  and 
was  soon  forgotten,  or  not  thought  of  amidst 
the  rapid  changes  and  absorbing  interests 
of  the  ever  occurring  vicissitudes  of  a  gen- 
eral war. 


HISTORY   OF  THE  WAR   OF   1812.  113 

TECUMSEH. 

The  personal  appearance  of  this  remark- 
able man  was  uncommonly  fine.  His  height 
was  about  five  feet  nine  inches,  judging  him 
by  my  own  height  when  standing  close  to 
him,  and  corroborated  by  the  late  Colonel 
John  Johnston,  for  many  years  Indian 
Agent  at  Piqua.  His  face  oval  rather  than 
angular;  his  nose  handsome  and  straight; 
his  mouth  beautifully  formed,  like  that  of 
Napoleon  I,  as  represented  in  his  portraits ; 
his  eyes  clear,  transparent  hazel,  with  a 
mild,  pleasant  expression  when  in  repose,  or 
in  conversation ;  but  when  excited  in  his 
orations,  or  by  the  enthusiasm  of  conflict,  or 
when  in  anger,  they  appeared  like  balls  of 
fire ;  his  teeth  beautifully  white,  and  his 
complexion  more  of  a  light  brown  or  tan 
than  red ;  his  whole  tribe  as  well  as  their 
kindred,  the  Ottoways,  had  light  complex- 
ions ;  his  arms  and  hands  were  finely  formed ; 
his  limbs  straight ;  he  always  stood  very  er- 


114  A    CHAPTER   OF   THE 

ect,  and  walked  with  a  brisk,  elastic,  vigorous 
step ;  invariably  dressed  in  Indian  tanned 
buckskin;  a  perfectly  well  fitting  hunting 
frock,  descending  to  the  knee,  was  oyer  his 
under  clothes  of  the  same  material ;  the 
usual  cape  and  finish  of  leather  fringe  about 
the  neck ;  cape,  edges  of  the  front  opening, 
and  bottom  of  the  frock ;  a  belt  of  the 
same  material,  in  which  were  his  side  arms 
(an  elegant  silver-mounted  tomahawk,  and 
a  knife  in  a  strong  leather  case),  short  pan- 
taloons, connected  with  neatly  fitting  leg- 
gins  and  moccasins,  with  a  mantle  of  the 
same  material  thrown  over  his  left  shoulder, 
used  as  a  blanket  in  camp,  and  as  a  protec- 
tion in  storms.  Such  was  his  dress  when  I 
last  saw  him,  on  the  17th  of  August,  1812, 
on  the  streets  of  Detroit ;  mutually  exchang- 
ing tokens  of  recognition  as  former  acquain- 
tance, in  years  of  peace,  and  passing  on,  he, 
to  see  that  his  Indians  had  all  crossed  to 
Maiden,  as  commanded,  and  to  counsel  with 
his  white  allies  in  regard  to  the  next  move. 


HISTORY    OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  115 

ment  of  the  now  really  commenced  war  of 
1812.  He  was  then  in  the  prime  of  life, 
and  presented  in  his  appearance  and  noble 
bearing  one  of  the  finest  looking  men  I 
have  ever  seen. 

After  the  massacre  at  Fort  Dearborn,  in 
which  he  had  no  participation,  being  far 
distant,  and  the  investment  of  Fort  Wayne, 
we  next  see  this  chieftain  in  command  of 
three  thousand  three  hundred  organized 
warriors,*  surrounding  Fort  Meigs  at  the 
Maumee  rapids,  with  his  sword  by  his  side, 
recognized  as  a  BRIGADIER  GENERAL  in  the 

l 

*  Eight  hundred  of  the  most  valiant  of  whom  were  well 
mounted;  the  principal  officers  armed  with  carbine  rifles, 
pistols,  tomahawk  and  knife,  at  whose  head  he,  with  his  ever 
attending  suite  of  young  braves,  the  sons  of  principal  war- 
riors, rode  up  the  line  of  the  Maumee,  challenging  General 
Harrison  to  come  out  of  Fort  Meigs,  and  give  him  battle. 
His  challenge  was  in  these  words: 
"GENERAL  HARRISON," 

"  /  have  with  me  eight  hundred  braves.  You 
have  an  equal  number  in  your  hiding  place.  Come  out  with 
them  and  give  me  battle  :  You  talked  like  a  brave  when  we  met 
at  Vincenncs,  and  I  respected  you ;  but  now  you  hide  behind 
logs  and  in  the  earth,  like  a  ground  hog.  Give  me  answer" 

"  TECUMSEH." 


116  A   CHAPTER  OP  THE 

British  service,  and,  after  General  Brock, 
he  was  the  only  general  officer  of  talent  or 
honorable  conduct  in  the  English  army  of 
the  northwest.* 

Colonel  ProctQr,  about  this  time  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  brigadier  general,  and 
soon  afterwards  to  that  of  major  general, 
was  one  of  the  meanest  looking  men  I  ever 
saw.  He  had  an  expression  of  countenance 

*  I  have  noticed  that  some  writers  have  been  in  doubt 
whether  TECUMSEH  understood  or  could  speak  our  lan- 
guage. He  did  understand,  and  could  speak  nearly  all  the 
words  in  common  use  sufficiently  so  to  hold  conversation 
on  ordinary  topics ;  but  he  never  spoke  any  but  his  own 
language  at  any  council,  or  when  in  presence  of  any  officer 
or  agent  of  any  government ;  nor  would  he  attempt  to 
speak  in  any  but  his  own  language  when  in  company  with 
any  one,  except  with  those  toward  whom  he  felt  very 
friendly,  or  had  private  intercourse,  and  who  did  not  un- 
derstand his  own  language. 

He  always  avoided  speaking  to  any  official  agent  of  the 
British,  or  our  government,  except  through  his  interpreter. 
His  reasons  were,  that  he  especially  desired  not  to  be  mis- 
understood ;  he  would  not  have  his  ideas  misapprehended  if 
he  could  prevent  it ;  and  he  was  aware  that  in  any  discus- 
sion in  language  not  perfectly  comprehended,  verbal  and 
often  very  important  mistakes  would  occur.  His  ideas  of 
the  honor  of  his  people  and  race,  precluded  any  official  in- 
tercouse  in  any  but  the  Shawanee  language. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF   1812.  117 

in  which  that  of  the  murderer  and  cowardly 
assassin  predominated  ;  nor  did  he  belie  his 
appearance.  His  infamous  massacre,  or 
permitting  the  massacre  of  wounded  pris- 
oners at  Winchester's  defeat,  at  the  river 
Raisin,  placed  him  beyond  the  pale  of  civ- 
ilized warfare,  and  subjected  him,  according 
to  the  universal  verdict  of  public  opinion, 
to  have  been  shot  down  as  an  outlaw,  when- 
ever or  wherever  afterwards  met  by  any 
western  man,  especially  by  any  Kentuckian. 

That  there  should  be  vile,  cowardly, 
and  of  course,  cruel  Indians  to  act  as  the 
willing  instruments  of  such  atrocity,  is  not 
to  be  considered  singular,  as  no  army  has 
ever  moved,  whether  American  or  Indian, 
but  has  been,  and  now  is,  infested  with 
these  most  detestable  followers.  This,  how- 
ever, is  always  an  exception,  and  never 
chargeable  to  the  valiant,  honorable,  brave, 
and  of  course  humane  warrior  of  whatever 
race. 

It  was  well  for  us  that  on  our  second  en- 


118  A.    CHAPTER   OF   THE 

trance  into  Canada,  in  1813,  the  counsels  of 
Tecumseh  did  not  prevail.  At  a  council  of 

i 

war,  held  at  Maiden,  previous  to  the  ap- 
proach of  our  army  under  General  Harri- 
son, he  urged  upon  General  Proctor  the 
necessity  of  meeting  the  invading  forces  as 
they  landed  below  Amherstburg,  and  if 
there  overpowered  by  superior  numbers,  to 
retire  upon  their  line  of  retreat,  and  take 
up  the  strong  position,  protected  by  an  ex- 
tensive forest  and  deep  water,  at  the  cross- 
ing of  the  Canard  river.  If  driven  from 
this  position,  to  take  another  near  the  river 
Thames,  retiring  with  all  their  supplies 
protected,  and  disputing  every  advance, 
until  our  army  should  be  drawn  far  into  the 
interior,  beyond  the  Moravian  towns,  when, 
if  necessary,  all  the  forces  of  the  upper 
province,  such  as  could  be  brought  from 
Burlington  Heights,  or  other  posts,  could 
join  them,  and  by  continued  harassing  and 
vigorous  struggles  they  would  exhaust  and 


HISTORY   OF  THE   WAR  OF   1812.  119 

overwhelm  us,  or  at  least  oblige  us  to  re- 
treat and  leave  the  province. 
1  These  views,  however  correct  and  sound, 
'met  with  no  response  from  General  Proctor. 
He,  on  the  contrary,  ordered  a  rapid  flight ! 
Tecumseh  rose  abruptly  to  his  feet,  dashed 
his  sword  violently  upon  the  table,  and  in  a 
great  rage  denounced  Proctor  as  a  coward, 
"A  MISERABLE  OLD  SQUAW,"  turned  upon 
his  heel  and  left  the  room.  * 

Proctor  lost  no  time  in  endeavoring  to 
appease  the  wrath  of  his  great  Indian  ally, 
by  promising  him  that  he  would  fight  the 
invaders  at  the  crossing  of  the  Canard 

*  General  Harrison  appreciated  the  soundness  of  these 
views  as  well  as  the  talent  and  judgment  of  Tecumseh,  if 
Proctor  did  not.  In  his  communication  to  the  Governor  of 
Ohio,  dated  at  Detroit,  Oct.  11,  1813,  six  days  after  the 
battle  of  the  THAMES,  he  says : 

"Nothing  but  infatuation  could  have  governed  General  Proc- 
tor's conduct.  The  day  that  I  landed  below  Maiden,  he  had  at 
his  disposal  upwards  of  three  thousand  Indians.  The  INDIANS 
were  EXTREMELY  DESIROUS  OF  FIGHTING  us  AT  MALDEN. 
I  enclose  you  TECUMSEH' s  communication  or  speech  to 
PROCTOR.  IT  is  AT  ONCE  THE  EVIDENCE  OF  THE  TALENTS 

OF  THE  FORMER,  AND  THE  GREAT  DEFECT  OF  THEM  IN  THE 
LATTER,"  etc. 


120  A   CHAPTER   OF   THE 

river  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Thames ; 
that  he  would  meet  him  on  his  landing, 
but  for  the  fact  that  the  enemy  had  all 
the  ships  and  great  guns  upon  them, 
with  which  he  could  kill  them  without 
their  being  able  to  reach  him  with  their 
guns ;  that  he  did  not  think  it  reasonable  or 
proper  to  make  a  stand  until  he  reached  the 
woods  of  the  Canard.  When  he  arrived  at 
the  crossing  of  this  stream,  instead  of  fulfill- 
ing his  promise,  he  again  excused  himself  to 
Tecumseh,  by  stating  that  the  Americans 
were  bringing  their  ships  up  the  Detroit 
river,  and  could  fire  in  upon  their  flank  with 
their  "DOUBLE  BALLS,"  as  Tecumseh  called 
the  shells,  (of  which  he  had  a  very  high 
opinion,  from  witnessing  their  effect  at  the 
siege  of  Fort  Meigs),  whilst  they  were  en- 
gaged in  battle  with  them  in  front.  There- 
fore he  proposed  to  continue  his  march  to 
the  vicinity  of  the  mouth  of  the  Thames, 
and  there  select  his  ground  and  fight  them, 
out  of  reach  of  their  ships. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  121 

On  arriving  at  the  place  designated,  he 
plead  another  excuse,  that,  although  the 
Americans  could  not  bring  up  their  ships, 
into  the  Thames,  they  could  place  their  can- 
non in  boats,  and  thus  use  them  in  the  bat- 
tle ;  and,  therefore,  it  would  be  best  for  him 
to  march  still  further  up  the  river,  and  into 
the  interior  so  far  that  the  water  would  be 
too  shoal  for  the  passage  of  their  boats. 

Tecumseh  saw  that  Proctor  did  not  intend 
to  fight ;  that  instead  of  offering  the  Ameri- 
cans battle,  his  sole  object  was  to  escape 
from  them ;  that  his  previous  promises  were 
false  and  deceptive;  and  knowing  that  all 
hope  of  success  in  his  cause  [1.] — all  pros- 
pect of  achieving  an  advantage  in  his  war 
against  us,  depended  on  the  defeat  of  the 
American  army,  or  obliging  it  to  retire,  after 
being  harassed  and  fought  in  the  wilds  of 
Canada,  he  assumed  the  superiority  that 
he  possessed  over  him ;  again  denounced 
him  for  his  cowardice,  as  well  as  his  evi- 
dent treachery,  declaring  his  intention  from 


122  A   CHAPTER   OP  THE 

thenceforth,  to  act  as  the  chief  commander, 
to  which  his  own  force  entitled  him,  pro- 
hibited Proctor's  advance,  proclaiming  that 
HE  would  march  in  advance,  select  his  bat- 
tle ground,  and  if  Proctor  would  not  fight 
the  enemy,  he  would  have  him  SCALPED  ! 

Tecumseh  moved  in  advance,  selected  his 
ground,  and  it  was  well  selected,  fixed  upon 
his  plan  of  battle,  put  his  forces  in  line, 
reviewed  every  rod  of  the  field,  and  spoke 
to  and  gave  orders  to  each  of  his  chiefs ; 
obliged  General  Proctor  to  occupy  the  posi- 
tion assigned  him — and  it  was  the  proper 
one. 

The  battle  of  the  "  Thames  "  was  fought! 
And  whilst,  from  the  moment  that  Colo- 
nel Johnson's  regiment  of  mounted  infan- 
try prepared  to  charge  on  the  British  front, 
the  commander  of  the  British  forces  was 
seen  fleeing  for  his  life,  the  Indian  chief- 
tain made  his  gallant  stand  upon  his  own 
and  last  selected  battle  ground ;  and  history 
has  to  record  the  fact,  that  when  at  last 


HISTORY   OF  THE  WAR   OF    1812.  123 

General  PROCTOR  was  forced  to  give  battle 
on  the  field  selected  by  TECUMSEH,  he  vilely 
fled,  and  left  the  un fought  field,  his  forces 
and  his  allies;  whilst  the  heroic  warrior, 
with  the  bravery  ever  shown  by  his  nation 
and  his  race,  breasted  the  storm  of  a  crush- 
ing battle  charge.  And  having  fulfilled  his 
duties  as  a  great  and  humane  warrior,  [2] 

and  his  destiny  as  chief  commander  in  his 

»/ 

great  cause,  which  was  no  other  than  the 
cause  of  his  race  and  people ;  having 
achieved  all  that  Providence  permitted  to 
be  achieved  in  their  behalf,  closed  in  honor 
his  earthly  career  [3]. 

In  closing  this  chapter,  I  will  again  recur 
to  the  surrender  of  Fort  Detroit  and  the 
northwestern  army,  by  General  Hull. 

There  was  no  man  of  intelligence  in  the 
army  who  did  not  believe,  at  the  time,  that 
the  surrender  had  been  pre-arranged  be- 
tween General  Hull  and  General  Brock, 
who  was  well  known  to  be  an  officer  of 
experience,  and  of  high  reputation,  and 


124  A   CHAPTER   OF   THE 

when  HE  MAECHED  up  his  little  force,  as 
heretofore  described,  halted  the  head  of  his 
column  in  open  view,  and  right  in  front  of 
our  batteries,  beside  the  entire  armament 
of  the  fort  bearing  on  him,  this  general 
belief  became  irresistable.  That  this  belief 
and  these  conclusions  were  entirely  correct, 
the  full,  complete  and  perfect  evidence 
afterwards  obtained,  as  herein  stated,  has 
fully  proven  and  confirmed  beyond  any 
doubt. 

The  only  uncertainty  upon  the  mind  of 
any  one  was,  whether  the  surrender  was 
negotiated  from  first  to  last  by  General 
Hull,  under  the  direct  influence  of  treason, 
or  whether  it  was  from  cowardice.  The 
evidence  of  cowardice  was  certainly  ex- 
hibited by  him.  The  first  verdict  of  the 
entire  army  was,  "TKEASON,"  and  this 
verdict  was  evidently  a  true  verdict ;  but 
whether  it  was  the  treason  of  the  com- 
manding general,  or  the  treason  of  others 
operating  on  his  extreme  timidity,  was  the 


HISTORY   OF  THE   WAR   OF   1812.  125 

only  question,  and  remains  in  history  the 
only  question. 

General  Hull's  official  report  of  his  sur- 
render, dated  at  Fort  George,  Canada,  Au- 
gust 26,  1812,  is  filled  with  misstatements, 
evidently  intended  to  extenuate  his  conduct 
and  his  acts.  Some  of  his  statements  and 
reasons  are  really  childish.  He  appears  to 
be  struggling  under  the  pressure  of  con- 
scious guilt  to  stem  and  avert  the  influence 
of  an  indignant  public  opinion,  which,  in 
unison  with  the  opinion  of  the  army,  had 
passed  upon  him. 

He  says,  in  reference  to  the  difficulty  of 
obtaining  supplies  for  the  army  from  Ohio, 
that  "  on  tliis  extensive  road,  two  hundred 
miles  through  a  wilderness,  it  depended  for 
transportation  of  provisions,  military  stores^ 
medicine,  clothing,  and  every  other  supply, 
on  PACK  HOESES  ;"  instead  of  which  the 
army  had  marched  along  that  road,  but  six 
weeks  previous,  with  an  ample  wagon 
6 


126  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

train,*  conveying  all  the  tents,  "baggage, 
stores,  ammunition  and  equipage  of  the 
army,  drawn  by  HORSES  and  OXEN;  not  a 
single  "PACK  HOKSE"  was  used  on  tlie 
march. 

He  further  asserts,  that  on  the  15th  of 

August,  "the  whole  effective  force  at  his 
disposal  at  Detroit  did  not  exceed  800  men" 
This  is  so  glaringly  false,  that  it  is  really 
a  matter  of  wonder  that  he  should  have 
asserted  it,  especially  as  he  knew  that  the 
daily  reports  of  the  condition  of  the  army 
were  regularly  made  up,  and  reported  by 

*  The  late  Presley  Kemper,  of  Walnut  Hills,  a  well 
known  and  respected  citizen,  and  for  some  years  one  of  the 
commissioners  of  Hamilton  County,  was  wagon  master  of 
this  train.  He,  with  his  train,  had  crossed  over  into  Canada 
on  the  same  day  that  the  army  crossed  over,  occupied  a  posi- 
tion in  the  entrenched  camp,  and  his  corps  of  teamsters  had 
been  supplied  with  fifty-two  muskets,  cartridge  boxes,  and 
ammunition.  His  train  of  fifty-one  large  four  horse  Pennsyl- 
vania wagons,  recrossed  the  river  on  the  night  of  the  7th  and 
morning  of  the  8th  of  August,  to  the  position  assigned  to 
them  on  the  common,  in  a  line  northward  from  the  northwest 
bastion  of  the  fort,  and  close  to  it,  and  remained  there  in 
full  view  oj  General  Hull's  headquarters,  until  after  the  sur- 
render. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  127 

the  brigade  major,  acting  as  adjutant  gen-v 
eral,  afterwards,  and  up  to  the  day  of  his 
death,  quartermaster  general  of  'the  United 
States  army,  the  late  General  Thomas  S. 
Jesup.  And  these  reports  showed,  what 
every  officer  knew  to  be  true,  that  there 
were  nineteen  hundred  effective  men  at  the 
fort  on  the  evening  of  the  15th  and  morn- 
ing of  the  16th.  There  were,  also,  in  the 
vicinity,  our  detachment  of  three  hundred 
and  sixty  effective  men,  Colonel  Brush's 
command  at  the  river  Raisin,  and  the  en- 
tire militia  of  Michigan. 

General  Brock,  in  his  report  to  Lieuten- 
ant General  Prevost,  officially  transmitted 
to  London,  and  there  officially  published, 
sets  down  the  number  of  our  troops  surren- 
dered to  him,  including  Brush's  command, 
and  not  including  the  militia  of  Michigan, 
at  twenty-five  hundred  men.  In  this  he 
was  correct,  as  all  except  Brush's  force  were 
set  down  by  name,  and  recorded  when  pa- 
rolled,  and  sent  home  or  taken  to  Montreal. 


128  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

Again,  in  speaking  of  the  troops,  "  hav- 
ing performed  a  laborious  march;  having 
been  engaged  in  a  number  of  battles  and 
skirmishes,  in  which  many  had  fallen,  and 
more  had  received  wounds;  in  addition  to 
which  a  large  number  being  sick,  and  un-~ 
provided  with  medicine,  and  the  comforts 
necessary  to  their  situation." 

So  far  from  this  being  the  case,  the  army 
had  a  comparatively  easy  march  through 
the  woods,  at  the  most  pleasant  season  of 
the  year,  from  the  last  of  May  to  the  first 
of  July,  not  too  hot  or  too  cold,  with  abun- 
dant supplies  of  all  kinds,  having  first-rate 
new  tents ;  no  forced  marches,  but  frequent 
halts,  only  sufficient  exercise  to  keep  the 
army  in  good  health;  and  then  it  had  been 
for  a  month  at  the  end  of  its  march,  with 
but  few  reconnoisances  in  force,  or  skir- 
mishes, or  battles. 

Instead  of  being  sickly,  it  was  remark- 
ably healthy,  and  in  fine  condition  in  every 
respect.  Very  few  were  wounded  or  on  the 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  129 

sick  list;  and  as  to  the  "sick  being  unpro- 
vided with  medicine,  and  the  comforts  neces- 
sary to  their  situation,"  the  assertion  was 
sheer  nonsense,  independent  of  being  en- 
tirely destitute  of  truth. 

The  annunciation  of  his  surrender  shocked 
the  whole  country,  and  fell  with  stunning 
force  upon  the  mind  of  every  man  west  of 
the  mountains. 

It  appeared  incredible  that  a  numerous 
and  well  appointed  army,  with  a  strong 
fortress,  could  be  surrendered  to  the  enemy 
with  his  feeble  force,  without  a  battle  or 
disaster  of  any  kind.  But  so  it  was;  and 
by  this  act  a  great  and  bloody  Indian  war 
was  brought  upon  us. 

The  great  gate  of  the  northwest  was 
thrown  wide  open ;  free  access  to  our  unpro- 
tected frontier  settlements  was  given,  the 
dark  hordes  of  the  wilderness  rushed  UPON 
them  ;  they  were  all  destroyed.  The  wild 
WAR  WHOOP  not  only  "  awakened  the  sleep 
of  the  cradle"  whilst  the  "flames  of  our 


130  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

dwellings  illumined  the  path  of  the  savage? 
but  its  fearful  echoes  broke  upon  the  silence 
of  night,  along  all  our  borders,  all  our  wil- 
derness frontier,  with  terrific  force,  and 
warned  the  stoutest  hearts  to  a  present  and 
bloody  conflict. 


HIS  CAUSE. 


I  have  already  noticed  the  "  CAUSE,"  the  great 
object  for  which  Tecumseh  labored,  and  devoted 
all  his  time  and  all  his  power,  from  the  time  of  his 
arriving  at  manhood,  to  the  day  when  he  laid 
down  his  life  for  it. 

His  celebrated  predecessor,  "PoNTiAC,"  urged 
on  and  encouraged  by  the  French  traders  and  in- 
habitants of  Canada,  hoped  to  overwhelm  the  Eng- 
lish colonists,  and  force  them  to  abandon  all  the 
country,  except  that  contained  within  a  narrow 
boundary  along  the  sea  shore.  And  when  he  had 
driven  in  the  inhabitants  of  Pennsylvania  almost 
to  the  Susquehannah,  leaving  but  a  few  weak  posts 
in  the  possession  of  the  white  man,  he  felt  assured 
of  success.  And  it  was  not  until  "  BOUQUET," 
one  of  the  ablest  and  most  skillful  commanders 


132  A    CHAPTER   OF   THE 

that  ever  marched  an  army  against  our  northwes- 
tern Indians,  had  beaten  them  at  "  BUSHY  RUN/' 
and  relieved  Fort  Pitt,  and  the  gallant  Gladwin 
had  most  nobly  maintained  a  protracted  and  vigor- 
ously conducted  siege  of  Fort  Detroit,  in  which 
"  PONTIAC,"  in  person,  displayed  his  greatest  force, 
and  exerted  all  his  subtle  strategy  and  skill,  that 
finally  paralyzed  his  efforts,  and  caused  him,  most 
reluctantly,  to  yield  to  the  conviction  that  without 
the  aid  of  ordnance,  the  skill  to  manage  it,  and 
the  munitions  of  war  possessed  by  the  white  man, 
it  would  be  unavailing  of  success  for  him  to  at- 
tempt the  reduction  of  forts  and  strongly  fortified 
posts.  With  these  impressions,  which  forced  them- 
selves upon  his  judgment,  he  saw  that  his  great 
struggle  would  be  hopeless  unless  aided  by  some 
one  of  the  nations  of  the  white  race ;  therefore  he 
slowly  yielded  the  field,  and  closed,  for  the  time 
being,  his  efforts  in  his  great  CAUSE. 

From  the  termination  of  this  great  war  of  PON- 
TIAC, 1765,  to  the  commencement  of  our  Revolu- 
tionary War,  was  but  ten  years.  The  Indians  now 
beheld  a  new  era,  a  new  state  of  things,  a  new 
political  division.  A  bloody  contest  had  com- 
menced between  the  same  members  of  the  white 


HISTOBY   OP   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  133 

race;  they  saw  their  old  enemies,  the  supporters 
of  the  British  Crown,  occupying  the  territorial  posi- 
tion of  their  old  friends,  the  French  ;  whilst  the 
people  of  the  colonies,  always  their  enemies,  had 
added  to  their  acts  of  atrocity  against  them,  by 
making  encroachments  upon  their  great  hunting 
ground,  and  the  murder  of  many  of  their  people, 
which  excited  new  fears,  and  intensified  their  ha- 
tred toward  them.  Therefore,  as  all  the  traders 
among  them  were  English,  and  in  English  interest, 
assuming  the  same  position  in  regard  to  them,  and 
exercising  the  same  influence  over  them  that  the 
French  traders  had  possessed  ten  years  previous, 
they  were  led  to  believe  that  the  British  Govern- 
ment was  the  most  likely  to  be  of  service  to  them, 
especially  in  the  event  of  the  colonies  becoming  a 
separate  and  independent  power;  and  in  case  of 
their  subjugation  they  knew  they  would  be  on  the 
strong  side,  and  have  claims  to  the  protection  of 
the  British  Crown.  Our  Revolutionary  Annals 
exhibit  many  of  their  acts  as  allies,  in  a  united 
cause. 

The  treaty  of  1783,  between  Qreat  Britain  and 
at  that  time  our  independent  States,  by  no  means 
ended  the  conflict,  or  removed  the  cause  of  war 


134  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

between  the  now,  and  for  the  first  time  known 
among  nations,  "  AMERICAN  PEOPLE,"  and  the  In- 
dian tribes,  as  during  this  era,  commencing  in  1775, 
a  new  and  inexhaustible  cause  of  war  to  them 
had  arisen,  producing,  as  it  did,  a  long  and  bloody 
struggle !  Adventurers  from  North  Carolina  and 
Virginia,  pioneers  of  the  white  race,  had  pene- 
trated their  great  hunting  ground,  always  held 
sacred  as  a  common  park  filled  with  game  for  the 
use  of  ally  upon  which  no  human  being  should 
have  his  home.  These  adventurers  had,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  war,  already  established 
themselves  at  Boonsborough,  Lexington,  Harrods- 
burgh.  This  invasion  of  the  white  man  brought 
all  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  northwest  to  a  general 
council,  which  .was  held  at  the  principal  town  of 
the  Shawanee  nation,  "  Chillicothe,"  now  marked 
on  the  map  as  "  Old  Town,"  above  Xenia,  Greene 
County.  They  decided  that  they  had  no  alternative 
but  to  make  frequent  incursions  at  all  seasons  of 
the  year,  in  such  force  as  each  tribe  could  furnish, 
and  if  possible  destroy  these  settlements,  and  drive 
these  aggressors  from  what  they  held  to  be  their 
domain,  their  territory ;  that  in  addition  to  these 
efforts  by  land,  the  tribes  most  convenient  to  the 


HISTORY   OF  THE   WAR  OF   1812.  135 

upper  parts  of  the  Ohio  River,  moving  out  from 
the  Muskingura,  Kanawha,  Scioto,  and  other 
streams  in  their  canoes,  should  attack  all  the  boats 
descending  it  containing  families  intending  settle- 
ment. 

From  1775  until  1791,  this  great  struggle 
continued,  at  times  with  formidable  force,  always 
with  bloody  and  destructive  results. 

We  now  arrive  at  the  time  1791,  when  TECUM- 
SEH,  a  mere  lad  as  he  was,  began  his  active  career ! 

The  Indian  had  forever  lost  his  great  hunting 
ground  ! 

The  war  in  which  they  now  engaged  was  their 
second  crusade,  and  for  the  recovery  of  the  boun- 
dary of  the  Ohio  Eiver.  This  they  were  prom- 
ised by  English  traders,  English  officers,  and 
every  Indian  interpreter  representing  the  power 
of  Great  Britain  at  Maiden,  at  the  Maumee,  at 
York;  and  this  they  greatly  hoped  for  and  con- 
tended for,  (as  I  have  mentioned,)  from  the  defeat  of 
Harmar  and  St.  Clair,  to  the  victory  of  Wayne, 
which  closed  their  struggle  and  crushed  their  hopes 
for  the  time. 

The    treaty   of    Greenville,    1795,   was    signed. 

Now  it   was  that  TECUMSEH  commenced   that 


136  A    CHAPTER   OF   THE 

career  which  he  ever  afterward  pursued.  At  St. 
Glair's  defeat,  and  at  the  battle  of  the  Rapids,  he 
had  established  the  character  and  gained  the  rep- 
utation of  a  YOUNG  BRAVE  of  high  promise.  His 
ambition  and  genius  caused  him  to  take  advantage 
of  this;  and  from  this  day,  accompanied  by  his 
brother,  who  a  few  years  afterward  became  the 
renowned  Prophet,  visited  all  the  tribes;  learned 
all  the  traditions  of  every  old  chief  whose  tribe 
had  at  any  time  occupied  land,  or  had  their  home 
near  the  ocean,  and  had  been  driven  to  the  interior 
by  the  encroachments  or  insidious  acts  of  the  white 
race.  They  learned  the  history  of  their  people ; 
the  unjust  means  always  resorted  to  by  the  white 
man  in  obtaining  their  lands,  and  forcing  them  to 
remove  from  their  long  cherished  homes.  This  was 
the  school  in  which  TECUMSEH  and  the  PROPHET 
were  educated.  And  from  this  time  they  exerted 
all  their  influence  in  opposition  to  every  treaty 
made  with  us,  and  especially  of  every  grant  of 
land.  In  this  they  were  ever  consistent. 

They  thus  commenced  their  third  CRUSADE  for 
the  recovery  of  their  old  boundary,  within  which 
were  the  SEPULCHRES  of  their  fathers,  which,  to 
them,  was  the  HOLY  SEPULCHRE,  and  their  fondly 


HISTOKY   OF   THE   WAR  OF   1812.  137 

cherished,  beloved  homes  upon  the  Muskingum, 
the  Tuscarawas,  the  beautiful  Miamis  of  the  South, 
the  fertile  and  delightful  borders  of  the  Scioto,  the 

LAND  OF   THEIR    EARLY   DAYS,  the    loss  of    which 

they  always  deeply  mourned.  This  WAS  THEIR 
"  HOLY  LAND." 


I  have  described  the  council  of  Springfield  in 
1806,  at  which  TECTJMSEH  gained  the  reputation 
of  being  the  leading  mind  and  great  orator  that 
shadowed  forth  the  .renowned  leader  in  the  war 
of  1812. 

When  hostilities  between  the  British  Govern- 
ment and  the  United  States  became  threatening 
and  the  influence  of  British  agents  had  become 
so  great  that  the  Indians  commenced  assembling  in 
large  bodies,  as  we  have  seen  in  1811,  TECUM- 
SEH'S  prospects  brightened.  He  was  promised  by 
all  the  British  officers  and  agents  at  Maiden,  at 
York,  at  Montreal  (all  of  which  places  he  visited 
in  person,  in  order  that  he  should  know,  from  the 
highest  representatives  of  British  power,  what  he 
could  depend  on),  that  in  the  event  of  a  war  be- 
tween the  two  Governments,  if  he  would  bring  a 
large  force  to  their  aid  in  the  northwest,  he  might 


138  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

depend  upon  all  the  power  of  the  King  of  Great 
Britain,  all  his  warriors,  all  his  ships  which  he 
would  build  on  the  great  lakes,  to  reconquer  for 
them  all  of  the  old  northwestern  territory,  and 
never  make  peace  with  us  until  their  OLD  BOUN- 
DARY OF  THE  OHIO  EIVER  should  be  secured  to 
them  forever. 

This  was  the  solemn  promise  to  him  and  to  his 
associate  chiefs  of  all  the  tribes,  in  the  summer  of 
1811 ;  and  these  promises  were  repeated  at  the 
commencement  of  the  war  in  1812. 

On  the  day  previous  to  that  on  which  the  council 
of  war,  which  I  have  heretofore  mentioned,  was  held 
at  Maiden,  TECUMSEH  addressed  to  General  Proc- 
tor a  communication  in  writing,  by  the  aid  of  his  in- 
terpreter, whom  he  always  kept  with  him  after  his 
forces  had  become  formidable,  it  being  important 
that  all  requests  or  orders  from  the  British  officer 
in  chief  command,  should  be  clearly  understood 
by  him,  as  well  as  that  his  views  and  suggestions 
should  be  promptly  and  clearly  understood  by 
them. 

This  communication  is  dated  at  Amherstburg, 
September  18,  1813,  and  made 

"  In  the  name  of  the  Indian  chiefs  and  warriors 


HISTORY  OF  THE   WAR   OF    1812.  139 

to  Major  General  PROCTOR,  as  the  representative 
of  their  GREAT  FATHER,  THE  KING." 
Among  other  declarations  are  these : 
"Father,   listen  to  your  children!      You  have 
them  all  before  you" 

"  When  war  was  declared,  our  father  stood  up 
and  gave  us  the  tomahawk,  and  told  us  he  was  then 
ready  to  strike  the  Americans ;  that  he  wanted  our 
assistance,  AND  THAT  HE  WOULD  CERTAINLY  GET 

US    OUR    LANDS    BACK    WHICH    THE    AMERICANS 


HAD  TAKEN  FROM  US." 


"Listen  !  Our  fleet  has  gone  out ;  we  know  they 
have  fought ;  we  have  heard  the  great  guns,"  etc. 

"Listen  !  The  Americans  have  not  yet  defeated  us 
by  land;  neither  are  we  sure  they  have  done  so  by 
water,"  etc. 

"lather,  you  have  got  the  arms  and  ammunition 
which  our  GREAT  FATHER  sent  to  his  red  chil- 
dren. If  you  have  an  idea  of  going  away,  give 
them  to  us,  and  you  may  go,  and  welcome  for  us ; 
our  lives  are  in  the  hands  of  the  GREAT  SPIRIT. 
We  are  determined  to  defend  our  LANDS,  and  if 
it  be  His  WILL,  we  wish  to  leave  our  bones  upon 
them  /" 

Early  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1814,  TECUMSEH 


140  A   CHAPTER   OF   THE 

having  passed  away,  all  of  his  most  devoted,  sub- 
ordinate chief  warriors  of  the  Shawanee,  Delaware, 
Ottowa,  Miami,  and  other  powerful  tribes  left  their 
encampments  in  Upper  Canada,  and  passed  down 
to  Quebec,  then  the  residence  of  the  Governor 
General,  for  the  purpose  of  conferring  with  him 
personally,  and  ascertaining  from  him,  whom  they 
knew  to  be  the  chief  representative  of  the  King, 
what  they  could  depend  on  in  the  future,  and  what 
his  views  were  in  regard  to  a  continuance  of  the 
war  ?  They  had  been  present  with  TECUMSEH  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war,  when  the  solemn  promise 
had  been  given  by  Lieutenant  General  Prevost,  as 
before  noted.  They  now  said  to  him  : 

"Father,  listen!  Your  red  children  want  back 
their  old  boundary  lines,  that  they  may  have  the 
lands  which  belong  to  them;  AND  THIS,  FATHER, 

WHEN  THE  WAR  BEGAN,  YOU  PROMISED  TO  GET 


FOR  THEM." 


"Father,  listen  !  The  Americans  are  taking  our 
lands  from  us  every  day.  They  have  no  hearts, 
father;  they  have  NO  PITY  for  us;  they  want  to 
drive  us  beyond  the  setting  sun." 

The  promises  of  General  Proctor,  at  Maiden, 
and  of  Sir  George  Prevost,  Governor  General  of 


HISTOEY   OF  THE   WAR  OF   1812.  141 

Canada,  at  Montreal,  representing  the  King  and 
power  of  Great  Britain,  were  made  and  broken ! 
The  treaty  of  Ghent  was  signed!  No  old  boun- 
dary !  Nothing  secured  to  them  ! 

The  sepulchres  ot  their  fathers,  and  the  sites  of 
their  beloved  early  homes,  became  the  fields  of  the 
white  man.  Their  HOLY  SEPULCHRES  and  HOLY 
LAND  were  lost  to  them  forever ! 

So  ended  their  third  and  last  crusade. 


HIS  HUMANITY. 


TECUMSEH  always  claimed  the  honor  of  never 
permitting  the  death  of  a  prisoner,  and  never  per- 
mitting any  greater  sacrifice  of  life  than  was 
absolutely  necessary  to  secure  victory. 

I  met  a  large  number  of  the  principal  warriors 
who  convened  at  Greenville,  and  participated  in 
making  the  treaty  of  peace  of  the  22nd  July,  1814, 
many  of  whom  had  known  Tecumseh  from  his 
youth,  had  been  with  him  In  the  war  of  1791  and 
the  present  war.  They  invariably  testified  to  the 
correctness  of  this  claim  on  his  part,  and  said  it 
" was  true ;"  "they  knew  it  to  be  true" 

In  addition  to  this  evidence,  or  in  corroboration 
of  it,  a  statement  of  an  English  officer  of  the 
highest  reputation,  as  well  as  that  of  some  American 
gentlemen  who  were  present  at  the  time,  will  be 
given. 


144  A   CHAPTER   OF  THE 

When  General  Green  Clay  advanced  with  the 
Kentucky  forces,  from  Fort  Defiance  to  the  relief 
of  General  Harrison,  then  besieged  in  Fort  Meigs, 
General  Harrison  sent  a  despatch  to  him,  General 
Clay,  to  land  eight  hundred  men  about  two  miles 
above,  on  the  opposite  shore  from  the  Fort,  march 
them  down  to  where  the  enemy  had  their  main 
battery,  spike  the  guns,  and  then  immediately  re- 
enter  their  boats,  and  cross  the  river  to  the  Fort. 
When  the  order  was  delivered,  the  noise  of  the 
rapids  and  dashing  of  the  flotilla  prevented  Col- 
onel Dudley,  who  was  charged  with  this  duty,  from 
hearing  the  order  distinctly,  (as  was  alleged  in  ex- 
tenuation by  Dudley's  friends,  though  not  admitted 
by  General  Harrison,  who  by  the  reckless  headlong 
movement  that  followed,  unquestionably  lost  a 
brilliant  advantage  over  his  enemy,)  and  his  men 
on  landing,  and  carrying  the  battery,  (which  was  on 
the  bluff)  without  opposition,  seeing  a  few  Indians 
in  the  road  before  them,  and  a  small  number 
having  fired  on  his  advanced  spies  or  rangers  in  the 
woods,  with  more  impetuosity  than  caution,  rapidly 
followed  them.  This  was  a  stratagem  of  Tecumseh  ! 
His  Indians  appeared  frightened,  ran  on  before  the 
Kentucky  Volunteers ;  the  road  leading  through  a 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  145 

thick  wood,  on  the  high  bank,  along  down  in 
the  direction  of  the  old  British  Fort,  (at  which  was 
one  of  the  British  camps,)  keeping  up  a  scattering 
fire,  and  running  so  as  to  lead  on  their  enemy. 

Tecumseh,  in  this  manner,  drew  the  whole  regi- 
ment along  between  two  columns  or  files  of  his 
warriors,  posted  on  each  side  of  the  road  on  the 
ground,  behind  trees  and  logs.  When  all  were 
within  his  ambuscade,  on  the  instant  that  his  signal 
was  given,  the  columns  closed  upon  Dudley's  regi- 
ment;  he  was  slain  ;  all  except  about  150  men  were 
prisoners.  Tecumseh  led  them  down  to  the  old 
Fort,  and  delivered  them  to  General  Proctor,  (the 
English  officer  in  command,)  immediately  returning 
to  the  front  with  his  warriors,  ordering  them  with 
the  promptitude  and  in  the  manner  qf  a  real  com- 
mander. 

Soon  after  he  had  regained  his  position  opposite 
Fort  Meigs,  some  cowardly,  mean  Indians  (and  every 
army  has  more  or  less  of  cowardly,  mean,  and  cruel 
persons  attached  to  it)  commenced  shooting  from 
behind  trees,  and  over  the  old  walls  at  our  men, 
and  wounded  several  of  them ;  although  the  officer 
on  duty  made  every  exertion  to  prevent  it.  He 
saw  no  other  course  than  to  send  word  to  TECUMSEH, 


146  A   CHAPTER   OF   THE 

and  accordingly  despatched  a  courier  on  his  fleetest 
horse  for  him.  In  a  short  time  Tecumseh  was  seen 
dashing  at  full  speed  down  the  road  with  his  sword 
drawn,  and  riding  up  to  these  miscreants,  with  the 
appearance  of  the  greatest  rage,  struck  them  with 
his  greatest  force  over  the  head  and  shoulders,  with 
the  flat  of  his  sword,  exclaiming :  "  Are  there  no 
men  here?"  The  English  officer  informing  me 
of  this  incident,  said,  "  He  was  the  maddest  looking 
man  I  ever  saw  " — t(  his  eyes  shot  fire  " — "  he  was 
terrible."  The  vile  Indians  vanished,  and  were 
not  seen  afterwards. 

Many  of  the  subordinate  officers  of  the  British 
army,  who  had  served  at  Maiden,  Detroit,  at  the 
siege  of  Fort  Meigs,  and  made  prisoners  of  war  at 
the  battle  of  the  Thames,  were  of  the  best  English 
families — always  gentlemen.  They  were  courteous 
to  us  at  Detroit.  We  were  kind  and  courteous  to 
them,  when  their  turn  came  and  arrived  as  prisoners 
at  Cincinnati.  From  some  of  them  I  obtained  im- 
portant facts. 

Many  persons  have  written  and  published 
sketches  of  the  life,  character,  and  appearance  of 
this  celebrated  Indian  chief.  Some  of  these  have 
been  written  by  persons  who  evidently  did  not  see 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  147 

or  even  have  any  certain  knowledge  of  what  they 
attempt  to  describe. 

All  persons  who  have  been  in  our  armies  during 
war,  especially  in  our  thinly  settled  part  of  the 
country,  (and  the  old  officers  of  our  revolutionary 
war  said  it  was  the  same  in  their  time,)  know 
what  reliance  there  is  to  be  placed  in  what  are 
termed  "camp  reports," — flying  reports.  During 
our  first  campaign  the  newspapers  were  full  of 
them. 

Among  the  publications  to  which  I  refer,  is 
"Brown's  views  of  the  campaigns  of  the  north- 
western army,  1814," 

He  says  :  "  TecumseWs  ruling  maxim  in  war  was 
to  take  no  prisoners,  and  he  strictly  adhered  to  the 
sanguinary  purposes  of  his  soul.  He  neither  gave 
or  accepted  quarters.  Yet,  paradoxical  as  it  may 
seem,  to  prisoners  made  by  other  tribes  he  was  at- 
tentive and  humane.  Nay,  in  one  instance  he  is 
said  to  have  buried  his  tomahawk  in  the  head  of  a 
Chippeway  chief,  whom^ie  found  actively  engaged 
massacreing  some  of  Dudleys  men  after  they  had 
been  made  prisoners  by  the  British  and  Indians" 
Paradoxical  truly  !  HE  took  no  "prisoners,"  when 
but  a  year  previous  he  had  taken  six  hundred  and 


148  A   CHAPTER  OF  THE 

fifty  of  Dudley's  regiment.  He  sank  his  tomahawk 
into  the  head  of  a  Chippeway  chief!  No- tomahawk 
was  seen;  no  Chippeway  chief  was  there.  They 
were  HIS  OWN  prisoners,  not  British  and  Indian 
prisoners.  The  British  had  all  fled  from  their 
battery  to  their  camp  at  the  old  Fort. 

This  is  a  specimen  of  history  where  the  writer 
depends  upon  common  or  camp  reports,  or  his  own 
imagination  for  facts.  Mr.  Brown  evidently  wrote 
at  home  and  from  hearsay.  He  further  states,  that 
in  the  first  settlement  of  Kentucky,  he  (Tecumseh), 
was  particularly  active  in  sinking  boats  going  down 
the  Ohio,  killing  the  passengers,  etc.  Made  frequent 
incursions  into  Kentucky,  where  he  would  invariably 
murder  some  of  the  settlers,  and  escape  with  horses 
loaded  with  plunder,  etc. 

Now  instead  of  all  this,  TECUMSEH'S  first  warlike 
act  of  any  kind  was  his  participation  in  the  conflict 
known  as  Harmar's  defeat,  in  October,  1791,  when 
he  was  a  mere  lad  of  sixteen  years  of  age,  in 
which  he  lost  a  beloved  brother,  several  years  older 
than  himself,  who  was  shot  down  at  his  side  ;  which 
so  shocked  him  in  consequence  of  the  timidity  or 
feelings  of  early  youth,  or  that  this  was  his  first 
battle ;  that  he  was  charged,  and  laughed  at  by  some 


HISTORY   OF   THE    WAK   OF    1812.  149 

of  the  old  warriors,  as  showing  the  "  white  feather" 
as  he  ran  off  the  field  when  his  brother  fell,  instead 
of  assisting  them  to  carry  him  off.  He,  however, 
never  wavered  afterwards. 

This  last  defeat  of  Harniar  took  place  but  a 
short  distance  from  his  birth  place,  his  beloved 
early  home.  He  was  also  in  St.  Glair's  defeat  about 
a  year  afterwards,  in  which  he  gained  credit  for 
himself.  And  at  Wayne's  battle  of  the  Eapids  of 
the  Miami  of  the  Lake,  on  the  20th  of  August,  1794, 
he  distinguished  himself  for  his  gallantry,  and 
gained  the  name  and  standing  of  a  " young  brave" 

This  was  the  advent  of  TECUMSEH,  as  a  partici- 
pator in  the  affairs  of  his  nation  and  race.  And 
the  idea  that  he  had  been  one  of  the  warriors  that 
had  "  made  frequent  incursions  into  Kentucky  in  the 
"  FIRST  SETTLEMENT  "  of  that  State,  been  among 
those  terrible  savages,  who  had  been  "  active  in 
seizing  family  boats  going  down  the  Ohio,  killing 
the  passengers,  etc.,  was  both  anachronistic  and 
fabulous,  as  the  destruction  of  the  family  of  Great- 
house,  the  coadjutor  of  COLONEL  CRESAP  in  the 
murder  of  the  entire  family  of  the  celebrated 
LOGAN,  the  "  MINGO  CHIEF,"  "  the  friend  of  the 
white  man,"  (whose  home  was  on  the  beautiful  high 
7 


150  A   CHAPTER   OF  THE 

bank,  about  four  miles  below  Steubenville,  on  the 
Virginia  side  of  the  river,)  was  among  the  last  of 
these  terrible  acts,  and  this  was  done  by  Logan's 
avengers  of  blood,  of  his  own  tribe,  when  Tecumseh 
was  yet  a  mere  boy ;  and  as  for  the  incursions  into 
Kentucky,  they  had  ceased  for  many  years. 

All  this  would  be  rich  and  amusing,  but  for  the 
fact  that  it  is  destructive  of  the  truth  of  history. 
Mr.  Brown,  however,  deserves  credit  for  having 
killed  oft  HIS  Tecumseh  at  the  place  where  the 
heroic  warrior  doubtless  fell,  the  battle  field  of  the 
"  THAMES."  He  says  on  that  occasion  "  there  was 
a  kind  of  ferocious  pleasure  in  contemplating  the 
contour  of  his  features,  which  was  majestic  even  in 
death" 


HIS  DEATH. 


On  the  return  of  the  Kentucky  Volunteers,  who 
had  participated  in  the  battle  of  the  THAMES,  at 
least  a  dozen  of  them  appeared  strongly  impressed 
with  the  belief  that  they  had  slain  this  great  chief- 
tain ;  but  no  one  of  them  pretended  to  any  certain 
knowledge  of  the  fact.  The  description  given  by 
them  of  the  personal  appearance  of  the  warrior 
whom  they  claimed  to  have  slain,  did  not,  in  any 
one  instance,  correspond  with  the  personal  appear- 
ance of  TECUMSEH.  The  better  informed  gentle- 
men of  that  force,  in  the  absence  of  all  certainty, 
thought  it  as  well  to  consider  the  Indian  warrior, 
who  confronted  Colonel  Richard  M.  Johnson, 
when  he,  at  the  head  of  his  forlorn  hope  charged 
upon  their  line,  and  whom  he  certainly  slew,  to  be 
this  distinguished  man.  In  this,  however,  they 
were  as  far  from  the  truth  as  the  others.  Colonel 
Johnson  informed  me,  and  so  he  publicly  stated, 


152  A    CHAPTER   OF   THE 

during  the  canvass  of  1840,  for  the  Vice  Presi- 
dency, that  he  did  not  pretend  to  say  that  the  In- 
dian warrior  referred  to  was  TECUMSEH  ;  he  was 
not  acquainted  with  his  personal  appearance;  all 
that  he  knew  was  that  a  tall,  athletic  warrior  con- 
fronted him,  whom  he  slew,  by  discharging  his  pis- 
tol at  him.  The  description  given  by  him,  of  the 
appearance  of  this  warrior,  did  not  correspond. 
He  was  of  too  great  a  height;  too  large  of  stature, 
dark  complexion,  and  black  eyes !  He  had  neither 
sword  or  pistols,  only  his  gun,  tomahawk  and  knife. 
Of  course  he  was  not  TECUMSEH,  as  at  all  times 
after  he  became  Brigadier  Genera]  and  Commander 
of  the  greatest  Indian  force,  fully  armed  and 
organized,  ever  known  in  any  war,  under  any  one 
chieftain,  was  never  in  battle  or  in  council  without 
them ;  and  his  complexion,  as  I  have  stated,  was 
light,  and  his  eyes  were  not  black,  but  a  clear 
transparent  hazel. 

It  was  considered  probable  at  the  time,  that  he 
had  been  severely  wounded,  and  borne  from  the  field 
by  his  devoted  and  always  attached  corps  of  young 
chiefs,  who  were  always  with  him,  acting  as 
ttids,  as  runners,  as  messengers.  There  was  no 
pursuit,  the  action  lasting  but  a  few  minutes ;  the 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  153 

English  throwing  down  their  arms  as  soon  as 
Major  Johnson's  battalion  had  advanced  upon 
them,  which  they  did  at  full  speed,  breaking  the 
line  of  battle,  and  thereby  turning  the  flanks,  and 
making  it  a  matter  of  necessity  for  the  Indians  to 
retire.  It  was  a  mere  charge,  a  single  shock,  and 
nearly  all  the  Indian  loss,  and  our  loss  was 
sustained  by  the  charge  of  Colonel  Johnson, 
with  twenty  valiant  men,  who  with  him  at  their 
head,  as  a  forlorn  hope,  had  voluntarily  and 
with  deadly  loss,  (in  imitation  of  Wayne's  tactics  at 
the  battle  of  the  Rapids,  in  1794,  where  General 
Harrison  acted  as  one  of  his  aids,)  adopted  this 
means  to  bring  on  the  action. 

There  is  one  thing  most  certain,  and  that  is, 
if  TECUMSEH  had  been  shot  down,  whether 
dead  or  alive,  his  body  would  have  been  borne  from 
the  field  by  his  devoted  warriors ;  nothing  would 
have  prevented  them.  The  entire  Indian  force 
would  have  concentrated  at  the  spot  if  necessary, 
and  hundreds  been  slain  before  they  would  have 
permitted  their  great  and  beloved  leader  to  have 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies  dead  or  alive. 
Neither  the  Greek  or  the  Trojan,  under  the  walls  of 
Troy,  ever  contended  with  more  devotion,  more  un- 


154  A    CHAPTER   OF   THE 

yielding  energy  and  pride  for  the  bodies  of  their 
fallen  heroes,  than  those  attached,  devoted  warrior 
friends  would  have  contended  for  him.  He  was 
mortally  wounded,  borne  from  the  field  after 
Proctor's  forces  had  thrown  down  their  arms.  "We 
thought  it  probable  that  his  wounds  might  not 
prove  mortal,  that  he  would  again  in  a  few  weeks 
or  months  re-appear  at  the  head  of  his  forces;  but 
he  did  not,  he  had  passed  away. 

When  in  the  ensuing  spring  the  delegation  of  his 
chief  subordinate  warriors  went  to  Quebec,  and  had 
their  interview  with  Sir  George  Prevost,  as  I  have 
mentioned,  Tecumseh's  sister  accompanied  them. 
Sir  George  Prevost  was  Governor  General  of 
Canada.  At  the  residence  of  the  Governor  General, 
Lady  Prevost  made  to  her  many  valuable  presents, 
among  them  many  emblems  of  "  Mourning"  This 
was  the  first,  though  not  positive  evidence  of  the 
death  of  the  renowned  chieftain,  that  I  have  ever 
met. 

A  large  number  of  the  warriors  who  had  been 
with  Tecumseh  from  the  beginning  of  the  war,  up 
to  the  battle  of  the  THAMES,  and  since  that  time 
had  returned  to  their  tribal  homes,  assembled  at 
Greenville,  the  same  place  at  which  Wayne's  treaty 


HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR   OF    1812.  155 

of  the  3rd  of  August,  1795,  was  made,  and  entered 
into  a  treaty  "with  our  commissioners  on  the  22nd 
July,  1814.  Among  them  were  many  who  had 
known  him  from  his  youth;  some  of  them  had  been 
in  the  habit  ot  coming  into  Cincinnati  with  their 
interpreters  every  autumn  after  the  treaty  of  1795 ; 
bringing  their  furs,  and  obtaining  their  supplies. 
Frequently  four  to  five  hundred  of  each  of  the  great 
tribes  would  annually  do  so,  having  their  camps  in 
the  forest,  where  Dayton  street  now  is,  and  at  the 
head  of  Main  street. 

Among  them  were  warriors  who  had  during  the 
war  of  1791,  taken  some  boys  of  respectable  families, 
carried  them  home  with  them  ;  afterwards  ransomed, 
and  growing  up  to  be  our  most  respectable  and 
opulent  citizens.  Their  old  captors,  bloody  war- 
riors as  they  were  known  to  be  in  Harmar's  and 
St.  Glair's  defeats,  would  make  it  a  point  to  call  and 
see  them ;  and  although  the  Indian  never  forgot  a 
friend,  or  forgave  an  enemy ;  and  when  he  reposed 
confidence  in  any  one,  and  was  not  deceived,  would 
ever  be  friendly  with  them.  Yet  with  all  this  com- 
parative intimacy  and  evident  friendly  feeling,  we 
could  never  obtain  from  them  any  information  as  to 
Tecumseh's  death ;  all  appeared  unwilling  to  admit 


156  A    CHAPTER   OF   THE 

that  he  was  slain  by  the  white  man,  that  he  fell  at  the 
"  THAMES/'  or  was  dead ;  pride  of  'feeling,  pride 
of  race,  previous  devotion  to  him,  always  prevented 
any  explicit  replies  to  questions  on  the  subject. 
They  were  asked : 

* 

What  has  become  of  Tecumseh  ? 

Raising  the  right  hand  to  heaven,  with  an  ex- 
pression of  the  deepest  sorrow, 

"  GONE." 

Did  you  see  him  on  the  day  of  the  battle? 

«YES." 

When  did  you  see  him  the  last  time  ? 

"  Just  as  the  Americans  came  in  sight,  he  with  his 
young  braves  passed  rapidly  up  and  down  the  line, 
spoke  to  every  old  warrior;  saw  every  one;  said 
(  BE  BRAVES  ;'  '  stand  firm  ;  shoot  certain.' " 

Did  you  hear  after  the  battle  that  he  was  killed 
or  badly  wounded  ? 

No  ANSWER. 

In  my  records  of  that  time,  these  lines  close  the 
description  of  the  battle  of  the  Thames. 

Here  the  heroic  Indian  chieftain,  the  greatest  of 
his  race,  doubtless  fell.  Yet  no  Indian  that  I  have 
met,  has  admitted  the  fact ;  and  no  white  man  that 
I  have  seen,  has  with  certainty  known  it. 


\ 


